Don't be Lied to About How You Burn Fat!

Don't be Lied to About How You Burn Fat!

 

This blog has a few numbers in it so please don't panic. The numbers are not the main message. The main message for today is that you should probably focus on doing more than the minimum. What would you expect from following the basic guidelines for any endeavor? The basic outcome. That is it, nothing more. The guidleines from the CDC are just to keep from getting more fat IF you follow their guidelines for eating as well, and how many people actually get their 5 serving of veggies a day, much less the 30 minutes of light exercise.  Do this and expect the MINIMUM results. So why not try to see what the MAXIMUM results can be for you?

 

  Some people need maximum results for their weight loss RIGHT NOW! If you have trouble walking at all, or you cannot climb stairs pain free, then you need top have maximum results in minimum time. What can you do? Combine your cardio and weight workouts for 90 days. Commit to 90 days of eating by the Food Guide Pyramid. It is more in depth than you think, but within less than 5 minutes you can find out how much you should be eating of each type of food. Included in the pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) is physical exercise. It does list the minimums so keep that in mind. Strive to achieve a healthy weight, chances are you need to lose weight, not just maintain.

 

   So if you think that just walking 30 min a day is going to burn your fat, you are being lied to. Although it is true that you tend to burn about 90% of your calories from fat at very low intensity, you burn very few calories. Then there is the Cross-Over point in exercise. At this point you can burn 3x the total calories and burn 50% of your calories from Carbohydrates and 50% from Fat. Basic quick math:

If you only burn 100 calories an hour at low intensity (25% of your max, walking), 90 of them will probably be from fat. 

If you burn 300 calories an hour at a moderate intensity (60% of your max, jogging), 150 of them will be from Fat.  

If you burn 500 calories an hour at high intensity (90% of your max, running),  100 calories will come from Fat.

 

   These are just for easy numbers. If you are running for an hour, as you would in a long race in which you do not stop, you would probably burn about 600 calories for a 6 mile race if you weigh about 130 pounds. That would probably be about 800 for me since I weigh about 175. Adjusted for what my fitness level is that would be about 60/40 fat and carbohydrate respectively.

 

   So go out and challenge yourself today, and every day for the next 90 days. Go for one jog this week, and lift weights twice. Next week add in a bike ride. Take your spouse or a friend for a walk, then race them. Make it fun. Or if it is not fun, do like the Southern Baptists say, "fake it , until you make it."

Ready to hit the gym?

Ready to hit the gym?

(or at least get out of your chair?)

 

So we have discussed periodization, strength, lifestyle and running, now let's get moving. Just take the first step. If you are the person who is motivated by the voices in your head saying "Move!" then come back tomorrow. If you are the person who is looking for those motivating words that will make you move, here they are: "Premature Death." Not moving, or inactivity, leads to premature death. It is not quick and painless; it generally pretty slow and painful.

 

When you move you help to flush toxins from the muscles. Moving, whether for exercise or another reason, helps to send fresh oxygenated blood into the muscle fibers and take away carbon dioxide that is in the blood stream. I am not certain exactly why these toxins build up in our muscle cells, but it may be so we don't sit on our keisters all the time and get fat. So it is know wonder that you feel crummy when you don't get out and move. 

 

There is no pill that is going to make you fit and there is not one in the FDA pipeline either. There are pills that can help you lose weight faster, but there are still no pills to help. You can go to the doctor and get pills to combat the effects of not moving but they all have side effects.

 

Go move while you are able. For that matter go move BECAUSE you are able. Do what you can today and then challenge yourself tomorrow to do a little more. There are people in hospitals and war torn countries who wish they could go play. If you need extrinsic motivation, do it for them. If you need intrinsic motivation, do it because that pain you are having might go away if you move.

 

Start with basics, like the push-up and the squat. These may be slightly harder than walking for 10 minutes, but they are basic movements that everyone should be able to do. Let's face it you squat every day and if you were to fall down, being able to do a push-up is awfully helpful in getting back up.

Periodization for All!

Periodization for All!

 

   The secret behind any good exercise program is adherence. If you stick with a program of exercise and diet for 90 days you will probably see some very good results. Lose focus and forget what you are doing for a few days within that 90 and you will probably have trouble adhering to the rest of the 90 days. It's just basic behavior modification. Make yourself stick to ANYTHING for 90 days and will become a habit.

 

    Periodization, the concept of altering your workout to achieve gains and resist injury, is one of the safest and most effective ways to keep getting healthier. Although the concept is generally applied to strength and endurance conditioning, as heavily researched by Tudor Bompa, it has also been applied more recently to nutrition for sport and exercise performance by Bob Seebohar. I will review the basics.

  Defintions: Repetitions - the number of times a given exercise is performed.

Sets - Performing an exercise for given number of repetitions.

 

For a 13 week program of strength exercise:

1. Muscular Endurance -Begin with weights that you can handle for about 15 to 20 repetitions for the 5 major muscle groups. Make this challenging for 4-5 weeks by finding what you can do for ONLY 15 repetitions per exercise for 2 or 3 sets, 2-3 times a week.

 

2. Muscle Hypertrophy - Next move to about the same exercise for 4-6 weeks at a higher weight that you can only handle for 8-12 repetitions for 3-4 sets per exercise. The weight you can lift 8 times in the first week you should be able to lift for 10 or 12 in the second or third week of this phase. Be safe and gradually increase resistance.

  

3. Power - For the most challenging phase spend 3-4 weeks doing a weight that you can only lift for 5 or 6 repetitions of 2-4 sets 2 or 3 times a week. This phase requires more recovery between sets and between days when you lift. It is also the most taxing on soft tissue. I personally only lift this phase for 2 weeks at a time; more than that I feel an uncomfortable tightness in the joints.

 

4. The transition phase - This phase should last 1-2 weeks. At this phase I like to find a balance between the first 2 phases; some exercise I lift for 12, some I lift for 15. At any point they are meant to be done for a lighter over-all workload. This allows the joints and muscles to adapt to the stresses they have been subjected to for the last 12 weeks. Your body is able to rest, a key component to exercise, and become more efficient for the next round of increased workload.

 

This has been an overview of the basics of and a quick intro into periodization principles. When beginning an exercise program please make sure you are cleared by your physician first.

 

A quick note - Try to keep your workouts to about an hour. Studies have shown increased dropout rates for workout plans that require more than an hour.

 

Good luck, have fun, and be healthy.

How Strong are You?

How Strong are You?

 

   So we have all been told that we need to lift weights/do resistance training exercise. What does that really mean? Are we supposed to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan: the Barbarian? I would hope not, but lifting weights or even your own body weight, with the intention of becoming stronger, has some very big benefits. 

 

I will not make any outsized claims as to what strength training does or doesn't provide. The science proves strength training makes you stronger. Peer-reviewed scientific research articles are what I use for my information regarding health and exercise; not random, unsupported claims made by trainers or fitness product companies, and not claims found on the back of a supplement bottle.

By gradually increasing the work load of the major muscle groups (legs, back, chest, arms, abdominals and shoulders) for a 12 week period, the following results have been seen and proven:

1. Increased insulin resistance - the body is better able to handle the sugar consumed without an excess of insulin.

2. Increase in lean muscle mass - the first 6 weeks are mostly neurologic adaptation, after that the body has to increase the motor recruitment of the muscles to handle the increased load.

3. Decrease in total serum cholesterol - it was believed that only cardiovascular training reduced cholesterol. More studies are showing a decrese due to strength training as well.

4. Reduced body fat - that doesn't mean you can still eat all the pizza you want. You can reduce ("burn") what you've already stored.

5. Become more efficient at expending calories - this makes losing weight easier.

 

So you can begin with 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week, and see some pretty amazing benefits. 

Here are few tips to get you started:

1. Start with a weight you can handle for 15 repititions of a given exercise.

2. Start with your larger muscles first - everyone wants nice arms, but biceps curls don't burn a lot of calories. The hip area has the highest concentration of muscle and largest muscles in the body.

3. Give your self time to recover - if you are still sore 2 days later(you probably will be after the first time) then go again on the 3rd day.

4. Seek professional help. Find a reputable trainer with a good track record. I do email programs and if you have a computer camera, I can watch you work out. 

5. Start light. It's better than sitting on the couch.

6. Stop when you feel pain, not just mild discomfort -

7. Set a goal of 90 days - that is how long it takes to really make a change. It is also why P90X works so well. If you work out with me for the next 90 days I can get you some pretty impressive results.... but it will cost you (and you will have to go skiing with me on Sundays).

 

Have fun and be healthy.

How are our knees?

How are Your Knees?

 

In the latest edition of ACE Fitness Matters, the Journal of the American Council on Exercise, their was an article about how running can save your knees. They pointed to 2 recent studies involving distance runners in which researchers found fewer knee injuries than their non-running counterparts. The article points out a few flaws in the study, like its small cohort size and the studies were done mostly on professional/elite athletes. However, a growing amount of research is showing us that "it is better to wear out, than rust out."

 

Dr Paul William of UCLA is author one of the largest long term studies of runners, The National Runners Health Study(its main flaw is that the information is "self reported" rather than physician reported in some cases). The increase in HDL cholesterol, the Good Kind, was shown to be comparable across age ranges and was shown to increase with every increase of 15 miles per week. These effects stretch into the 70s as well as younger runners. The decrease in LDL cholesterol was not as great over the age of 60 but that may have to due with a decrease in bile acid production and its ability to remove LDL from the body. As a note, faster runners also had higher HDL.

 

So why do I choose running as my means of exercise to write about most? Quite simply it is one of the easiest ways to incorporate exercise into your day. Running has a "Low cost of entry," it just costs you the price of your shoes and workout wear. Running also has a pretty darn good bang for the time spent doing it, about 400% of the Net Calorie Burn of walking (you burn more calories per mile running and you go twice as far). So the new studies show that you also build the muscles AND cartilage around the knee joint when you run.   

 

So you say you have "Bad Knees," I'm not buying it. What, are they talking in the library? Shooting spitballs? Unless a doctor has told you not run AND you got second opinion on that, then you should be out there running. It is a very natural form of activity. It was the runners who got us where we are, the others got eaten by the sabre-tooth tigers. 

 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

1. Go get fitted for a pair of shoes. You can throw on a pair of Keds and do alright, but a good store will video you running in several pairs of shoes and put you in the best one for you.

2. Start slowly and build slowly. If you haven't run before, ever, go to a track and jog around slowly 3 or 4 times, or jog around your block 1 or 2 times.

3 Hire a coach. They will help you design a program you can stick with that is safe.

4. Attend a clinic at a local running club. The social aspect may be enough to keep you going on the cold winter months and the heat of summer. See links below for local clubs.

5. You don't have to run a marathon your first year. As a marathon veteran, I can tell you you have to really like running to train for a marathon.

6. Start your own running group. Remember that bird house you built with your dad? Your new running friends will remember what you have built.

7. Listen to what your body tells you. If you are new to exercise you will have to tell yourself not to stop at first, but pain in a joint is a sign to stop. Usually there are warning signs before that pain.

8. Just get outside and move. It may take your body a few days to recover if you are new, but it will thank you.  

 

http://www.rrca.org/

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/4/4_4/index.shtml

Make it your Lifestyle

Make it your Lifestyle

  I read an article in Triathlon Life magazine, the magazine published by USA Triathlon, entitled "Is Triathlon Recession Proof." It quotes a New York Times article suggesting the sport of triathlon may be "recession proof." The article was published in late 2008 (I was throwing out some magazines and found this one in the stack) but it still seemed to ring true. My ideas about the sport were confirmed when they said that triathletes just seem to make it a part of their life. Some race directors even saw 20% percent of their race attended by college students. 

 

   Why does this still happen in an economic downturn? Because these people make it part of their lifestyle. They make it part of their every day life. Do want you to become a triathlete? You bet I do. I also want you to hire me as your coach, but that is for another day. What I really want from everyone is to make doing something active part of their every day life. "Use it or lose it" has been scientifically proven. Lack of activity is a greater cause of arthritis than is activity. Lack of activity has been linked to early death. Early Death! I like living even it is just to my next race.

 

   Maybe you have a child or a grandchild you would like to live to see. maybe you want to see what feels like to be 60, 70, or 80. If you don't like what feels like in your 50s then you can do something about it. Start moving in your 50s. Hey, you might find you like it. Sure their are some minor aches and pains involved with being active but they are just from actually using your muscles and go away in a few days. The aches from not using your muscles last much longer, not to mention to the side effects of the meds you have to take to alleviate the pain.

 

Some simple steps:

1. Go for walk as fast as you can. Don't panic when your heart starts to beat fast, it is normal.

2. Buy some exercise clothes. New materials can help you stay warm in the cold, cool in the heat.
3. Find some friends to exercise with. Triathletes like associating with other healthy people.

4. If you don't like competition, don't go to compete. Exercise can be done for its own sake, but having something to aim for makes it better.

5. Smile when your exercise. It has been proven to make it hurt less, and grimacing can age you prematurely.

Sometimes I Don't Get "IT"

Sometimes I Don't Get "IT"

  I have to admit that I don't think like everyone else. I am sure of this, but we don't really know what goes through another person's mind. I don't get Reality TV; spending hours watching shows about Hollywood, or getting your news from only one source. However, since this is about your health and fitness, I do "get" exercise and eating.

   I like to eat. I like to exercise. But even on a basic level I just like to move and move comfortably. I like food that tastes great and I like a run through the woods. I wasn't always this way. There were times when I was less healthy; when I would eat just about anything with little regard for the long term effects. I understand that I am in the health industry and that it is more or less my job to know about exercise. However, it is not my job to know everything about food and nutrition. Enjoying food and being conscientious about nutrition is my passion. I never ate a calorie, could not tell you what one tastes like. I have eaten burgers, salads, nuts, pizza, tofu, tempeh, snails and, of course, many other things. We all have to eat and so we should all make it our business to know what we are eating.

   Now to what I don't get: I don't get the second 10 pounds someone puts on. The heaviest I have ever been was 194 pounds. I was a very serious weight lifter and workout guy then. I was doing a workout that an NFL team gives their linebackers and tight ends. I could squat and bench press and do pull-ups with obscene amounts of weight. My body fat was, using calipers and a Jackson and Pollock calculations, around 8.5%. When I switched over to doing to more endurance type of exercises I lost 18 pounds in about 8weeks. My body does not "like" being that big and I felt it. How often do we actually take the time to acknowledge how our bodies feel? Try it next time you eat. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Thirsty after eating? The food probably had too much salt. Stomach not happy? Probably too much fat in the food or what you ate was past its expiration date. Tired after? Probably too much sugar in the food.

   According to a Businessweek article in 2008, 40 billion dollars are spent annually in the diet industry in the US. Divided by the roughly 300 million of us, that is more than $1300 per person per year. That is about 400 Big Macs per person. Now i know I did not go on a diet last year and neither did my immediate family, so those statistics are not right. Maybe if we just paid attention to what we ate and moved a little more we could find a whole new industry to replace the diet industry: Moving.

So a few tips:
1. Don't eat while you are moving. Eat at a table with a knife and fork, you will consume fewer calories.
2. Go for a walk after you eat. A 15 minute walk could save you a bundle on antacids.
3. Know what is in your food. Learn how to read a label beyond the calories and fat grams. Can't pronounce the ingredients? don't eat it.
4. If you are not at a healthy weight, begin to reduce your calories today. Start by reducing your saturated and animal fats.
5. Do something to get moving. Something, even a little, is better than nothing.

Don’t Be Part of the Problem


I know it sounds simple, but that is because it is. Simply put DO NOT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM. Obesity costs the health care system $147,000,000,000.00 every year, most of it from diabetes drugs. That number will escalate even further as the joints of the obese begin to wear out sooner than their more active counterparts. Begin with exercising an hour a day.
“OMG an hour a day! That is a lot!” you say. Not really. We get a cumulative effect working for us. Here is a tip: Park in the first spot you see when you pull in to the parking lot of your grocery store. That’s right, as far from the door as you can park. Better yet, take a bicycle to the store. You are then limited to how much you can fit on the bike and so you will make a wiser choice in what you actually buy. Twinkies: Nope, no room. Steak: we have room for that. Veggies: always room.
Here is another tip. Don’t buy anything that has to be boxed or canned. If it is in a box or a can it probably has enough sodium for a small horse.
Now try this one: READ THE LABEL. If you have trouble pronouncing anything, that’s right ANY THING, on the ingredients list, DON’T BUY IT. Peanut butter should only have peanuts and maybe, MAYBE, salt. No Hydrogenated anything.
Take a walk after meals. Mow your own lawn. How many fat people have a problem with illegal immigration, but have an illegal mowing there lawn for them? In Arizona, the number is pretty high. Here in NJ its pretty high, too. (I mow my own lawn, thank you very much).
Garden. Two fold benny here: 1) you burn calories weeding, tending the soil, and picking your crop. 2) You get fresh vegetables and fruit. You also get the added benefit of treating this country as the bountiful land that it is. In the south there is a lot of “Rah Rah, Love this country” and then eat your weight in fried food every day. I love this country, but we produce approximately 3600 calories per person every day, we subsidize it with the Farm Bill (By the way the Farm Bill for 2008-2012 [H.R.2419] costs every American household almost $2600 and is $286,000,000,000.00) and then we pay again when the poor have to go to the Emergency room for indigestion. (Most people only need 1500 calories per day, an addition of 3500 extra calories results in a 1 pound weight gain. If you ONLY consume 2500 calories per day you will gain about 1 pound a week without any exercise.

So go do something active today, and then do it again tomorrow and the next day. If you are “too tired” do it anyway. You body will adapt (its pretty amazing that way) and you will have more energy tomorrow. Go be active. Go be active. Go be active.

In good health and good humor.

A Little Clarification
www.getfitnyc.com


Let me explain a little something. I have said that being fat is un-American. I have not received any feedback that ANYONE has felt otherwise. However it is not just being fat that is so bad. It is being fat and doing NOTHING about it. I grew up with a mother who had five children, a weight problem, and the time to attempt every new diet that came out.

Dieting does not work. Let me say it again: DIETING DOES NOT WORK. I could not even begin to tell you what a calorie tastes like. But I can tell you that the chicken/apple sausage I had with breakfast has 11g of Fat, 1g carbohydrates, and 14g of protein totaling about 130 calories. I can also tell you that it has a nice snap to the skin, can be cooked in very little oil (none if you have a no-stick pan), and is a little on the salty side with a sweetness that compliments the chicken flavor, and I like it just a touch burnt. The bread I had it with was fresh from the bakery Sat and the brown eggs had a slightly heartier flavor than the white ones I had to buy last week. Describe your food. Write down what it tastes like. Write down how it looks, how it makes you feel when you eat it, how you were feeling before you ate it, why you chose to eat what you did.

My eggs were scrambled, there was 1 whole egg and 1 just white (removing all the cholesterol and fat from that egg and leaving half the protein) so it was more pale yellow than 2 whole eggs, the sausage was scored on both sides for easier and quicker cooking, and I put some reduced sugar cherry preserves on the wheat toast. I was feeling like I had not had enough protein yet, I was a little stressed because work is not as busy as I would like, and I felt satisfied after I had eaten and was ready to take on the rest of the day.

If you are aware (some call it being present) of your food then you make better choices. If you are aware of your choices then you make better choices also. There are alternatives to high fat, high calorie, high sugar, low nutrient foods. An apple costs about the same as a Little Debbie snack cake with NONE of the junk calories. Yes, an apple is mostly sugar and fiber, but it also has micronutrients that help your body to function better. You can also pair an apple with a handful of raw nuts to slow the insulin response as well as get some protein, omegas and necessary fat.

If you need some junk calories then you need some sugar in car’s gas tank. Why do we spend so much money putting good fuel in our cars but not in our bodies? All of the “premium” food is on the outside aisles of the supermarket. All of the “regular leaded” foods are on the inside aisles. Just like leaded gas, these items contain junk that your body, excluding a small part of your brain, does not want. When the craving centers in your brain get in the way of making healthful decisions then you need to slow down, have a glass of water, and pay attention to what your body is really telling you. A sugar craving is often a call for more energy, generally signaling a lack of sleep or an imbalance in your diet. Sometimes it is even a signal to take a nap or eat a piece of fruit. A hunger craving is also frequently mistaken for thirst.
In our push for better health do not miss the big picture. Skinny is not the goal. Fat is not the goal. Healthy is the goal. If you can live to a healthy old age then you can see your children graduate college, your grandchildren go to high school, and your great grandchildren can text you about your lunch date.

Before you reach for your next bite ask yourself, “Is there something I can do, right now, with this decision, to make myself better and healthier?” I truly do not mind you being overweight. I do however, absolutely deplore, complaining about it and doing nothing. I do love to see those with slightly more weight than they are comfortable with out getting some exercise. I give encouragement when I see them walking, running, or bike riding around the NYC area.

You have to start somewhere, and the first step is usually the best place. Pick up something heavier than you normally would today. Park at the back of the parking lot. Walk to buy your groceries. Run to the gym. Ride your bike. Go for a walk after meals(I have said this one before). Challenge yourself. Get regular sleep. Don’t eat when you’re emotionally charged. Forgive someone you have a grudge against. Strive for happiness. Achieve healthy choices every day. Go be healthy America.

Have some Healthy Independence

It is un American to be Fat/Obese/Overweight?
www.getfitnyc.com


The increase in obesity in the United States has been a trend for so long now that we accept it as “The American Way.” I say that is dead wrong. We are a healthy, strong and capable people. We know that when the time is right we stand up for our country to make it stronger. However we are continually destroying ourselves by taking in low quality, nutrient depleted calories. Our health as individuals and our health as a nation require our vigilance.

In these tougher times we need to demand of ourselves and each other that we remain healthier. Get your eyes checked regularly. Go to the doctor. Use the preventive medicine that your insurance pays for. Be physically active. Get insured. I know that this topic is sensitive. I want health care to be affordable, and I want everyone to have adequate coverage. There are enough well people in this country, who are not insured to balance out the market. Moreover, tens of millions of Americans suffer from preventable diseases. Now if those tens of millions just started, that is it, just start, exercising every day then we could put a major dent in this insurance debate.

You don’t even have to wait until Congress passes health care reform. You start passing it on your own. If you have joint pain, then do something about it, lose 10 pounds or take the medication prescribed to you. (There are water based classes to get weight off of your joints to exercise.) Reports say the problem needs to be addressed at the highest levels of government. Well that is us, the people are the government. Since people say all politics are local, it does not get more local than yourself. Pass your own healthcare reform. Be active!

Reuters reports that in Miami, insulin injections are the number one fraud perpetrated against Medicare. Insulin injections are becoming so commonplace, and the government pays out such massive quantities for this, that even the criminals saw an easy in road. With the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes becoming more prevalent in younger people it is imperative that we shake each other by the shoulders and say: “Wake UP! Snap out of it! The government is not going to help your obesity.” Are you waiting for the government to step in say you can’t go to McDonalds because you’re too fat? YOU! Have to make the choices for yourself. It is personal. If you take it personally, well then you should. I know there are medical conditions that make people obese. But they are rare. “I’m big boned.” No you’re Big Mac’ed.

Do a set of push ups during commercials. Walk in place while you watch SportsCenter. Watch TV standing up. Walk around the block for 15 minutes after meals. 3 meals x 15 minutes = 45 minutes of exercise. You will feel better, your digestion will be better, your waistline will shrink and you will be doing something good for your country. So start today. Work off that BBQ from this weekend. Go to the gym. Start a group of walkers in your neighborhood. Don’t know where to begin? That is where a personal trainer comes in handy, but you don’t need a trainer to know how to walk.



Blueprint for a Healthier America: Modernizing the Federal Public health System to Focus on Prevention and Preparedness- Trust for America’s Health www.healthyamericans.org
Government moves to staunch major Medicare fraud –Reuters-July, 1, 2009