Too Much of a Good Thing

Great news, some of your favorite foods are good for you!" Doesn't it feel great when your favorite health magazine declares that chocolate, pecans and olive oil make you younger and healthier! I agree, there is nothing better than sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying nuts and chocolate guilt free. But alas, like everything in life moderation is key.

I recently worked with a client who fit the perfect mold of “too much of a good thing.” She wasn't working out regularly and was putting on weight for the first time in years. She claimed her diet was “impeccable” so she didn't understand why the numbers on the scale continued to rise. Here was her typical diet:

Breakfast - a slice of toast with 2 tbs. natural peanut butter, “natural peanut butter is full of fats that lower your cholesterol”. 2 tbs peanut butter = 16 grams fat.

Mid-morning – A Venti Starbucks Mocha, the full-fat version, “some studies show benefits to drinking the fat found in 2% milk versus consuming fat-free skim”. Venti Mocha (2% milk) = 17 grams fat

Lunch - Salad with olive oil, “olive oil has a high ratio of unsaturated to saturated fat making it a healthy choice”. 1 tbs olive oil = 14 grams fat

Afternoon snack - a handful of pecans, “healthy fat and filling”. ¼ cup pecans = 22 grams fat

Dinner - grilled meat, often chicken but red meat a few times/week and vegetables. Oh and sometimes a piece of bread with 1 tbs. full fat butter, “some fat is good for you” 3.5-ounce pot roast = 10 grams fat, 1 tbs butter = 14 grams fat

Nighttime Snack - a cup of decaf and a few chunks of chocolate, “the 70%+ dark chocolate because dark chocolate is suppose to be great for your health”. Two chunks dark chocolate = 13 grams fat

Total daily fat = 106 grams! This is too much of a good thing.

According to the USDA website, this client should have been consuming closer to 50 grams of fat to maintain her current weight. She would probably want to consume closer to 30 grams to lose weight but she was consuming almost three times this amount! Needless to say, this client’s blood pressure and cholesterol were high.

So how can you include these yummy “health” foods into your diet? MODERATION.

Write down everything you eat, including measurements and use an online calorie calculator such as the USDA MyPyramid Tracker. This will help you determine if you have become victim to “too much of a good thing”.

Alternate peanut butter with an all-natural fruit spread or honey on your toast. Try substituting some “low fat” alternatives to “healthy fats” such as skim milk and low fat dressing. Try saving high fat chocolates for a Friday night treat and grab a peppermint patty or a 100-calorie snack pack for a desert. And even though pomegranate juice may be loaded with anti-oxidants, don’t drink several glasses a day.

Let’s face it. It feels good to consume foods that taste great and are “healthy”. But basic nutrition guidelines cannot be thrown out the window just because the New York Times claimed "chocolate can make you look 10 years younger". Be smart, practice moderation, and enjoy some peanut butter...from time to time.

Nutrition and Fitness: Like peanut butter and jelly

Just like peanut butter and jelly are needed to make a perfect PB&J, nutrition and fitness must go hand in hand. Proper nutrition delivers the right amounts of carbs, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies running. Fitness provides the right amount of activity to keep our physiological systems primed and manicured. Current advances in medicine and sports science have shown the power exercise and nutrition concurrently play on hormonal balance, brain function, and overall life satisfaction.

Thankfully, we have been so bombarded with the importance of proper nutrition and exercise, almost everyone knows sport's science's famous adage, "30 min./day of physical activity" and the USDA's "food pyramid". I'm fairly certain almost everyone can make a list of physical activities they "could" do on a daily basis and a nutritional daily diet they "could" follow. Like any list, the hard part is remembering to follow it.

Personal trainers and nutritionist can help you stick to your "lists" and meet your goals. But remember, nutrition and fitness must go hand-in-hand. Your personal trainer should have a basic education in nutrition and be able to help you reach your nutritional goals. However, unless they hold a license in nutrition, in most states they are not able to prescribe a specific meal plan. Similarly, most nutritionist have some education in basic exercise physiology and can probably recommend some general exercise guidelines. However, this does not mean they can spot incorrect exercise form or know heart rate training methods.

Everyone needs a bit of extra guidance and motivation at some point in their lives. Deciding whether to consult with a nutritionist and/or a personal trainer depends on your goals, willpower, and strengths. The most important thing to remember is nutrition and exercise are like peanut butter and jelly and you deserve the goodness of both. Rest assured any qualified personal trainer or nutritionist will incorporate both exercise and nutrition into your wellness plan. And, if your needs fall outside of one of our scopes of practice, we all are friends so we'll be sure to refer you to someone who can help.

Eat well and play hard!

Want Some Incentive...Take That!

I'm BACK! It has been one heck of a year. After over 6,000 diapers, 200 loads of laundry and many sleepless nights, my triplets have turned one and I feel like I've conquered the world! I wish it had been easy but nothing about getting back into shape, getting life in balance, or raising multiple babies is. Although life is still a whirlwind, I am squeezing in the time to get back to what I love, spreading the word on the awesomeness of a sound body and mind. And yes, despite my crazy life, I did run that 5K last March, finishing a surprising 5th in my age group.

June 2008 - Pregnant with the triplets, on month 2 of bedrest and 75 pounds heavier

June 2009 - I'm Back and with a family to boot!

Honestly, we have all had these kind of years...or at least these kind of weeks. Finding the time to workout, or to breathe, can be a challenge. Finding the motivation can be downright impossible. That is why my favorite motto for exercise and for many situations in life is "it is easier to act yourself into a new way of feeling rather than feel yourself into a new way of acting". When your having "one of those weeks" (and I know because my past 52 weeks have been "one of those weeks"), throw your workout clothes on and head out the door before you give yourself a chance to dwell on your exhaustion. Fifteen minutes into your workout take a VERY deep breath and remind yourself how wonderful life is. By this time, your endorphin levels will have kicked in and you will be feeling like the proud, strong, awesome person you know you are. The exhaustion of life will be a distant memory and you will gain the strength to take on another fabulous day.

Have you worked out today? If not, don't think...just put on those shoes and go!

It has been a tough journey

It has been 2 months and I am slowly accomplishing my goals. Finding the time to squeeze in my workouts has been the hardest obstacle for me but I DO find it. Remember, I have triplets that just turned 3 months old. I have to wash and prepare 21 bottles a day, do about a load of laundry a day and still manage to keep the house clean. It IS possible to stay in shape and recovery from pregnancy. If I can do it after 2.5 months of bedrest, 70+ pounds, and 3 newborn babies anyone can! Here is my progress report from the past few months.

Walking/Jogging - I get in about 3-4 runs every week. The babies eat at 10:00 AM. By 10:30 I pack them in the strollers and we are off. There is a ~4 mile running trail around my house. We started by jogging 1 min, walking 2 min, and I gradually increased my jogging time and decreased my walking time until I could jog the entire 4 miles. I have just enough time to shower before the babies next feeding at 1 PM. The first few times I went from walking to jogging, was no fun. My ankles hurt, my knees felt weak and I had severe back pain the next morning. After 2 months, the pain has drastically improved.

Cycling - I try to get in 1-2 cycle workouts/week. I usually squeeze these in when the babies nap in the afternoon. At first I could only accomplish 20 min. of light spinning before gasping for breath. I couldn't believe I use to teach hour long spin classes. However, I know the body adjusts to the demands you place on it so I've stuck with it. I have gradually worked up to 40-45 min. of intense spinning and 15 min. into my workout, I LOVE IT!

Weight training - I try to do a few resistance exercises 1-2x/week. This usually consists of using my babies as weights (see above). As they grow, I am getting stronger and they continue to overload my muscles. I usually do lunges, squats, chest press and shoulder presses.

Sit-ups - I have severe muscle separation due to my belly's gigantic size during my pregnancy. I may require surgery down the road to fix this problem. Therefore, I am limited to what I am able to do with my core, i.e. crunches are off limits. This poses a problem because a weak core leads to back problems, which I struggle with daily. I can do stationary strengthening exercises like planks and pilates. I try to do a little something for my core and lower back every night. My abdominal healing and strengthening will be a long process although my back does feel better each week.

I still have about 7 pounds to lose. I lost the first 15 rather quickly once I started working out and following a strict eating plan. The last few weeks things have slowed down despite my diet and intense workouts. I have only lost about 1 pound every few weeks. This is to be expected as my body and metabolism adjust. Despite the standstill on the scale, my clothes are beginning to fit better. I can now wear most of my pre-pregnancy pants, my arms are much more defined and my belly is SLOWLY shrinking. Since I was enormous the last few weeks of my pregnancy, my abdominal skin may never bounce back. Therefore, as my tummy shrinks, I have a lot of lose skin. My abs are basically non-existant so I am having to adjust to looking at a bowl of jelly in the mirror rather than a defined 6-pack. This is all part of the process.

I will continue to update as I strive to reach my goals. I still have some weight to lose and by in a few months, I want to run that 5 K! I sit here typing this as I bounce a baby. It is almost feeding time and I have a workout to get to. More updates to come...

From Bedreast to a 5K

Pregnant with Triplets - June '08

It is my turn to document my journey to get back in shape. For those of you that know me, I went from training for a half marathon in November '07 to cutting out all exercise after learning I was pregnant with triplets in December. My pregnancy was considered high risk and physical activity, besides taking the dog on a walk, was discouraged. I was also encouraged to gain as much weight as possible, 60-70 pounds. At the end of April '08, I ended up on bedrest until I delivered at the end of June. I was on complete bedrest, staying on my side the majority of the time for 2.5 months, 1 month of which I spent in the hospital. I gained a total of 65 pounds throughout the pregnancy. For a former personal trainer, the lack of activity was torture. However, I delivered 3 healthy beautiful babies on June 29th, 2008. They are a true blessing and worth every sacrifice I made. To see my blog of our journey from conception to choas visit: babygx3.blogspot.com.

Months of bedrest has taken a toll on my body. Today, I took my dog on a 1/4 mile walk around the neighborhood and found myself gasping for breath. The other day I did the same workout with Marcus in his stroller and had to lean into his stroller for support the whole way up the hill (aka: holding the rails on a treadmill...gasp :)) My knees hurt when I go down the stairs and my lower back aches every time I get out of bed in the morning. I am....hold your breath...completely out of shape!

I am a personal trainer...I run 10K's for fun, the pool is for swimming laps, A relaxing day is a 30 mile bike ride , and pilates and yoga are for meditation and keeping my mind clear, working out and encouraging others is my passion. Now I can honestly say to my future clients, "I have been there, I know how awful it feels to have your belly jiggle while you gasp for air walking up a hill".

I cannot wait to get back to personal training but I have to get myself back in shape first! I have decided to share my journey to rediscover my inner athlete. Within 1 week of delivery, I had lost about 40 pounds of baby and water. Since then, my weight hasn't changed much, I still have an additional 15 pounds of fat to lose and about 10 pounds of muscle to gain. More important, I need to rebuild my cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength. I have three more weeks to recover from my c-section till I can start hard workouts but even walking around the block is a challenge for me now.

The fun begins! Now it is my turn to tell myself, "stay moving!"

AN ATHLETE AGAIN!

This past summer I had the honor of training Lindsey Gredler, a vet technician in Chapel Hill, NC. Lindsey originally sought my services to get back into shape. Like many of us, her workouts had fallen into a slump. She didn't need to lose weight but she wanted to tone up and feel challenged. "Being a former athlete, I was used to having coaches on my heels all the time telling me what I needed to do to improve my overall performance. Without a coach beside me, I realized that I didn't really know what I should be doing to get a really good workout."

Lindsey and I did a lot of functional training mixing cardio and resistance in every workout. We had some really challenging workouts including stadium stairs, hill sprints, jump roping, and back to back circuits. For some of her workouts, we never left her living room but we also visited a local track, swimming pool and neighborhood running trails.

Lindsey was already in good shape but she did move into the excellent categories in both her cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and muscular endurance. Although she didn't need to lose weight, she did drop her body fat by 3%, and lost 3.5 in. from her hips and waist, Lindsey says "One of my biggest challenges, was staying motivated outside our sessions but I have learned to challenge myself in my workout routines, how to keep myself from getting bored during workouts, and how to mix up my workout routines! I will apply these skills each time that I workout and continue to reduce my stress level and increase my overall fitness!"

Way to go Lindsey!

Personal Trainer Q and A
Should I work at a lower intensity to burn more fat?
Many people are misled by reading the "fat burning zone" charts on popular cardio equipment. While it is true that your body uses a higher proportion of fat over carbs as a fuel at lower exercise intensities, your total caloric burn will be higher while working at a higher intensity. In addition, the number of calories your bodies uses to recover from exercise will be higher after high intensity work. Therefore, overall you will burn more calories at higher intensities. Please remember, constantly training at high exercise intensities isn't for everyone. Many individuals will be more successful by working out for longer periods of time at lower intensities. An effective exercise program will incorporate the right amount of low and high intensity work for each individual. By evaluating your abilities, your personal trainer should regularly incorporate individualized intervals into your program for an effective and challenging high caloric burn workout.

What the research says: Phelain JF, Reinke E, Harris MA, Melby CL. Postexercise energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in young women resulting from exercise bouts of different intensity. J Am Coll Nutr. 1997 Apr;16(2):140-6.

Taking it on Together!

Research consistently shows that family/roommate support is crucial when making behavior changes. If you are trying to overhaul your diet, the ice-cream in the freezer is often hard to refuse. Genetics does play a role in body phenotypes but we cannot discount the role the environment plays in families expanding waistlines. Therefore, it is crucial that spouses and housemates talk to each other about the importance of their goals. Even if your husband or wife is not trying to go ice-cream free during the week both spouses need to respect each other’s weight-loss efforts by keeping ice-cream out of the house. You both will appreciate the extra effort when you visit your favorite ice-cream hang-out together on the weekend.

In addition to sweets and salty indulgences, ideal portion sizes for a man versus women can be very different. A 120 pound woman may only require 2,000 calories/day whereas a 160 pound man may require 2,900. If husband and wife both indulged on a “serving” of General Tso’s chicken at their favorite local Chinese joint (560 calories), the man consumed 19% of his daily calories while the women consumed a whopping 28% of her daily calories. Meanwhile, it would take the man 5.5 hours to burn off these extra calories while it would take the women 7.5 hours. It is easy to see how women eating the same diets as their husbands will put on more weight.

Rather than despising your spouse, appreciate your differences. At dinner, take half of your serving home. Not only have you saved 230 calories (30 minutes on the treadmill), but you have a delicious lunch to take to the office the following day. Ask your spouse eat desert at lunchtime when you are not around to be tempted by his/her indulgence. If your trying to avoid sweet snacks, ask your spouse keep his/her Tasty Cakes at work and encourage them to swap out extra rice for extra veggies at dinner.

Don’t let eating be the highlight of you and your housemate’s time together. Find other ways to enjoy each other’s company such as bike rides, a game of tennis, or a nightly walk. Having the support of loved one’s is crucial for success. In the end, asking for support will not only add years to your life but will often end up inspiring changes in the ones you love.

DID THEY KEEP IT OFF?

They say any behavior takes 6-months to become a habit. 50% of people drop out of a weight loss program by 6 months and 90% gain all their weight back in a year. Last summer, two of my clients battled to see who could lose the most weight in 4 months with me as their guide. Through healthy eating and exercise Max and Nick were both successful at losing weight and getting in shape. So, how are Max and Nick doing one year later? Have they kept the weight off? You bet! Check them out today!

The Busy Guy

Nick continues to eat healthy and exercise. "My life is really busy but exercising is not an option, I know I have to work out regularly." Nick still eats very healthy but now that he has achieved and maintained his goal weight he treats himself to his favorite food from time to time. "There are lots of weekends when my buddies and I order a pizza or go eat wings and that is ok. I eat much smaller portions than before and I know I just have to eat really well during the week and do a long work-out on the weekend." Nick admits it is hard having some roommates and coworkers who don't have the same ideas about healthy eating as him but he does a great job of making nutritious choices and not giving in to temptations. Staying active is still a really important part of Nick's life. He did a lot of weight lifting during the winter and runs in community 5K's throughout the year. "I like the challenge of races, it keeps me active to have a goal to work towards." At a recent health fair at work Nick was amazed at how much lower his blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol were from last summer. "I knew I was headed towards health problems down the road if I didn't lose the weight but it was shocking to see how getting in shape completely reduced my cardiovascular disease risk factors". When I asked what the hardest part of maintaining his healthy lifestyle was he replied, "That's the thing, I don't think it is that hard anymore. Being healthy is part of who I am now; I look good and feel great!"

The Athlete

Max has turned working out into a hobby. "I bike to and from work everyday and go on a 6 mile run at least 3 times a week." Max plans to run a half marathon in November and start training for some mini-triathlons in the fall. "Staying active is a really important part of my life now. I love the challenge of 40 + mile bike rides." When I asked Max if he still watches what he eats at work, which was his biggest challenge this year he replied "I have a new respect for salad bars and follow the two plate rule at buffets, one plate for salad and one for lean meat with whole grains". Max says he started running during his lunch break at work. "I love getting a good workout in the middle of the day. If I run during my lunch break, I have to pack a healthy lunch and won't be tempted to eat unhealthy at restaurants." Max has gotten a clean bill of health from his doctor. "My resting heart rate is really low and I've been experiencing a lot less symptoms of stress”. Low resting heart rates reflect a healthy and efficient cardiovascular system and are typical in athletes. “What I learned a year ago have proven to be life enhancing and life-long tools." When I asked Max if it's been hard to maintain his weight he said "It can be difficult, I would still like to trim down a little more and continue to build more muscle but no goal worth reaching in life is easy so bring it on!"

To see Nick and Max's before and after pictures from last year, click here

Rewards for Motivation

"Tough times don't last but tough people do." -A.C. Green

Change is hard, as we all know. But we also know we need to exercise and eat well. Make it a habit by first establishing a patterns and tie a positive reward to it. For example, start your week off by writing down a few specific, achievable goals. If you reach these goals, go buy a new pair of athletic shoes, a workout shirt or music for your I-pod. If you reward yourself with a prize you can enjoy while work out, you can condition yourself to stick to your goals!

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."
- Beverly Sills

You know you are capable so get out there and change your life today!