Rev Up - Metabolic Boosting

When trying to lose weight, it's important to maximize your metabolic powers. (P.S.  even though this sounds like a phenomenal theme for a superhero - actually anyone can give their metabolism a boost through...drum roll please.....diet and exercise!  Great news...hurray.  This is exciting stuff! :) 

One of the biggest mistakes we make when cutting calories to lose weight is cutting too many, which causes our bodies to slooowww dooowwwnnn.  Dr. Oz tells us that when we sleep our metabolism reduces about 10%.  Sleep is also imperative to good health (and studies show that lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain).  So a good way to rev up the calorie burners is to drink water first thing in the morning (16 oz is a good goal).  Beth Steur told us again and again that we need to eat breakfast to break the fast of the night before. 

Let's review our metabolic super powers...
#1 - Drink 16 oz of water in the morning 
#2 - Eat breakfast with protein in it.

Digesting protein can raise the metabolism up to 14%.  Fantastic!  Why, because protein also can aid in satiety which can aid in weight loss due to minimizing overeating and keeping blood sugar in check.  Also an increase in body temp can elevate metabolism up to 14%.  Super!  Short of moving to the tropics, you can elevate your body's temp by up to 4 degrees by working out. 

Let's review our metabolic super powers...
#3 - Eat low fat protein. is a great weight loss tool and it speeds up metabolism while digesting (thermic effect of food)
#4 - Exercise regularly and add variety

If you don't exercise at all and you start today, you will increase your metabolism certainly while exercising.  Some studies suggest that you can continue to ride off that boost up to 16 hours after the exercise.  If you exercise regularly already, the best way to put a shift in your metabolic needs is to change up your exercise program.  Change the way you lift weights, change the order, change the number of sets or reps.  For cardiovascular, try high intensity intervals or change modes go from jogging to biking, biking to swimming. 

One more week until our final weigh in.  Make good choices by planning ahead!

Follow Your Rules

Hopefully, we've had some success shifting our brain away from some of our weight gain habits.  Research shows that we will have the most adherence to our goals if we focus on ONE clear task at a time.  (From Leo Babauta's book, The Power of Less, one specific task leads to 85% adherence, two tasks it drops down to less than 35% and three tasks an abysmal 10% of triumph.) 

In Dr. David Kessler's book, The End of Overeating, he says that we can change how our brain reacts to ingrained food cues.  On page 184, "In the beginning, you'll need to control your actions carefully (RULES), but in the long term, you'll replace one set of automatic behaviors for another."  OK, great...how do we do this? 

Make specific rules about how you will handle a food situation that conflicts with your weight loss.
Make specific rules about what your decision will be at the split second your brain gets the food cue.
Make specific rules about how you will handle a food failure. 

In the section Theory of Treatment in Dr. Kessler's book he suggests that the first step in habit reversal is awareness.  Become aware of what the triggers are that create an overeating situation.  Learning to pay attention to the "urge" will help us realize that we have a choice. (How about making this choice one of your rules?)

The second step is "engaging in competing behaviors."  If we have an old habit, like eating after dinner every night, we need to have a plan of what we are going to do in lieu of eating aimlessly after we've eaten this meal.  Eliminating the cue (like any commercial on night time TV) may be the first step.  Make a rule.  Here's a few to consider:

• I will only allow myself to eat fruit or vegetables after dinner.
• I will only eat while sitting down.
• I will not go in the kitchen after dinner.
• I will allow myself a cup of tea and two graham crackers after dinner.
• I will count how many times I chew my night time snack (be in the present while eating!)
• I will chew gum while cleaning up the kitchen so I don't clean the dishes with my mouth.

Set ourselves up for success.  Rules help pave the way for us to do without having to rely on that sneaky willpower that sometimes turns its back on us!

Sorry, Brain, Things are Gonna Change Around Here

I like saturated fat and salt mixed together.  It tastes really good to me.  Apparently, it is also causing the pleasure center in my brain to light up with glee.  Further to that, according to an article I just read in IDEA’s March Fitness Journal, my brain is hardwired to seek out happiness and safety and shun discomfort.  As much as I think I’m in charge of my decisions and my willpower, my “primal brain” runs the show most of the time and wants me to eat saturated fat and salt mixed together so I’m happy and temporarily safe (in that I’m not going to starve to death at lunch on Tuesday afternoon).  It doesn’t understand or care about the long-term consequences of high cholesterol and excess body fat.

 So is this the end of the road for me and everyone else trying to beat the beast down to lose a few pounds? 

The answer is NO. 

But, how can I change my brain’s reaction to salt and fat pie?  I could make a public declaration espousing the evil of my beloved and how from this day forward, I will not be mesmerized by its allure.  Then tonight when I’m watching American Idol a big juicy burger at the commercial break will start whispering to me, telling me how happy I’ll be if we hook up.  “Primal brain” says, “Go for it, that burger will rock your world.”   You get the picture….

So is this the end of the road for me and everyone else trying to………

The "no" doesn't sound so confident now.  I can see why on Day 2 or Week 3 or whenever, that I'm ready to throw in the towel.  Happy brain circuitry to blame.

So now what...how do I change this neural infatuation short of getting my taste buds removed. 

It doesn't have much to do with hunger.  Studies on humans and animals have found that add salt, fat and sugar and we and our mammal counterparts will keep on eating with reckless abandon. I need to rewrite history by putting in a new set of rules.   

Our task this week, is to make one SMALL, SPECIFIC change to our eating patterns.  Let's not over analyze it initially.  Do we want to drink more water?  Have a small cup next to the sink.  After brushing, drink two glasses of water.  Depending on the size of your cup and how many times we brush our teeth, that could be 16-32 more oz a day. 

Want to eat less carbohydrates? Decide not to eat starchy foods after lunch.  Or write down every carb serving eaten and keep it to six or under.  Remember our serving sizes, ½ cup rice or pasta, 1 slice of bread. 

Want to stop grazing?  Drink a protein shake for a snack.  Or make a snack list of 5 things and don’t divert from it.  Carry prepackaged snacks with you. Or, eat only 5 times a day.  Chew gum. 

What will you change this week?  Be specific.  Start small and achievable.  Share this goal with someone.  Commit to it, but if you falter get back on at your next eating occasion. 

New Challenge Coming Up - Feb. 29

The time is near for our next 6-Week Weight Loss Challenge. 

Start date: FEBRUARY 29 - 7:00 p.m.
Where:  CourtHouse Fitness Center, 8229 Camargo Road, 45243, 513-271-3388
Cost:  $60 with cash prizes to top finishers

Weekly meetings will be on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.  This meeting will include a weigh-in and a circuit class with personal trainers Lauran McHaffie and Pam Strike.

The meetings will include weekly goals that will include nutritional, behavioral and fitness tasks.

To arrange an intial evaluation, contact Beth Steur at 513-390-7468. 

Inflammation Ain't So Swell

We hear a lot about how detrimental inflammation is to our health.  Dr. Oz's You on a Diet and Dr. Galland's The Fat Resistance Diet are GREAT resources to get a better understanding of how our bodies physiologically respond to inflammation at a cellular level. 

From a weight loss stand-point, it is clear that there are certain foods that cause cellular inflammation.  Equivalently, there are foods that can help fight inflammation and subsequently give our metabolism a lift which we KNOW is vital to weight loss.

So here is Dr. Galland's list of 40 Super Foods from page 8 of his book.  He states, "These foods will help fast-track your weight loss by healing your inflammation and restoring your sensitivity to leptin." 

A change in weight loss philosophy for you might be...instead of worrying about what NOT to eat, pay more attention to what you SHOULD eat.  Start eating better and your body will respond and start to "ask" for these foods. 

Here's another way to think about it.  One of the most pivotal steps in life-long weight management is eating healthy 90% of the time. If you break out the math, we eat five times a day (3 meals + 2 snacks).  Multiply that by seven days a week and we eat about 35 times a week (snackers take heed!)  So 90% of 35 is is 31.5.  We need to eat healthy foods that energize our body every time we eat except three and a half times a week.  PLAN, PREPARE, PERSEVERE 

Here's our magic pill #3...nutritious food makes you feel and perform better.  Aha!

BEVERAGES (unsweetened)

Blueberry juice

Cherry juice

Green Tea

Pomegranate juice

Vegetable juice 

NUTS AND SEEDS (fresh, unsalted, not roasted)

Almonds

Flaxseeds

Sesame seeds

Walnuts

FRUIT (fresh)

Apples

Blueberries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Oranges

Pomegranates

VEGETABLES

Arugula

Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrots

Leeks

Onions

Romaine lettuce

Scallions

Shiitake mushrooms

Spinach

Tomatoes

HERBS AND SPICES

Basil

Black pepper

Cardamom

Chives

Cilantro

Cinnamon

Cloves

Garlic

Ginger

Parsley

Turmeric

FISH

Flounder

Salmon

Sole Tilapia

OTHER

Egg whites

Yogurt (plain, nonfat)

Find the Good in Grains

This week our Weight Loss goal is to examine our carbohydrate consumption.  The USDA suggests that women's daily allowance of grains is 5-6 oz and men's, 6-7 oz.  This is roughly 1/2 cup of rice or pasta, 1 cup of ready-made cereal or one piece of bread.  A great reference for nutritional information and serving sizes is http://www.myplate.gov/.

Remember to look for higher fiber grains and those that are processed the least.  Check out your labels and measure your servings sizes for a real eye-opener.  Dr. Arthur Agatston founder of the South Beach Diet notes that the quicker the carbohydrates we eat are absorbed into our blood stream, the more likely we are to store it as fat.  These things slow down the absorption of carbs:  fiber, protein, fat and acidity.  He uses the analogy that eating a piece of white bread is like drinking alcohol on an empty stomach - a spike in blood sugar. 

The lesson here is that you will slow down the processing of carbs if for example, you eat some olive oil with your bread (multi-grain of course).  Or have a piece of smoked salmon and a smear of cream cheese with capers on a thin slice of multi-grain baguette (OMG-food nirvana in my book)  Add tuna or chicken and some veggies to your brown rice...you get the picture.  (Let's move on...getting hungry here.)

Beth, made a great point to me this morning.  Remember if you are fulfilling your protein needs, you will not be as enamored with your carbohydrate consumption.  This is not to suggest that you omit carbs.  The cravings will be lessened.   

Here's what you can focus on :

• Fiber - Men should reach for about 35 grams of fiber a day, women need about 25 grams.
• Know what a serving of grains, like rice, barley, pasta looks like on your plate.  If you eat two servings, you may need it, just make sure you are aware you are eating two servings.
• Stay close to the source:  raw fruits and veggies are great source of carbs.  Put some color on your plate!
• If you aren't ready for raw, go ahead and cook them.  Try olive oil and maybe a little salt as an introduction.

Baby steps are a good way to get healthy and stay healthy.  Weight loss is sometimes the icing on the cake.  (Ok...bad pun...just say no to frosting!)

Protein Power

The scale was a good friend to us this week.  Collectively, we lost 61.7 pounds.  Woo hoo!!!  Here's what we'll work on this week, in addition to continuing to LOG EVERY MORSEL.

Focus on including high quality protein in your daily diet.  Why?  Because extra protein decreases appetite. (Protein is a great tool for over eaters and binge eaters as we start to learn the cues of what it feels like not to be hungry.)  From Bob Greene's book, The Best Life Diet, p. 81.  "Many studies show that people feel more satisfied and eat fewer calories later on after having meals rich in protein.  Scientists aren't sure why protein is so satiating, but theorize that it may affect hormones that suppress the appetite."  Sold!

As Beth stated in the meetings, women need 75-100 grams of daily protein and men can require up to 150 grams depending on activity level.  A couple of things to remember when adding more protein:

• Don't add it all at once to help the digestive track learn to process.
• Choose low saturated fat proteins.
• Experiment with plant proteins...soy, quinoa, some pastas
• Start looking at labels...know what you are eating.
• Drink Lots of Water

Yes, drink water.  It helps with digestion, eliminate toxins...blah blah blah.  Here are a few tactics that may be your weight loss secret.  Often thirst masks itself as hunger.  So starving at 3:00 p.m.?  Drink two glasses of water, before you eat a snack.   Also, try drinking 16 oz. of water first thing in the morning (before coffee).  This puts your digestion to work and gives a boost to the metabolism. 

Goals:  Food Log, Eat Protein, Drink Water

Keep up the good work, keep documenting!

Food Logs are the Bomb!

Welcome Weight Loss Challengers!  Thanks for signing on for this journey to weight/fat loss and better health through good nutrition and exercise.  We have a motivated group.

Our first task at hand is to log what we eat and drink every day for the next two weeks.  Every morsel...we often are blind to a few hundred calories of food that we pop in our mouths out of habit.  If you are one that picks his way through a party, or is the vulture that cleans everyone's plate with a hand-to-mouth motion - FIND AN ALTERNATIVE ACTION and stick to it.  Gum can be a great weight loss friend!

Here's something to consider from a study published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  It included 1,685 overweight or obese U.S. adults aged 25 and older in a six month program.
 "The most powerful predictor of their weight loss was how many days per week they kept their food diary, says Victor Stevens, PhD, senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.  "Those who kept food records six days a week -- jotting down everything they ate and drank on those days -- lost about twice as much weight as those who kept food records one day a week or less, Stevens tells WebMD."

Did you see that?!?  Food logging can help us lose twice as much weight!!!!!  Is this the magic pill?

Here are some logging tips:

• Use any diary method that works for you.
• Share your diary...studies show it makes you more accountable (you can share yours with Beth, Pam and Lauran via email)
• Document as you go...don't wait until the end of the day
• Keep track of portion size (look to see what 1/2 cup of rice looks like, 8 oz of milk, etc)
• Don't skip indulgences, write 'em down - Its not to shame you, it's to provide you info on triggers and habits that might be continually sabotaging your efforts.

What's working for you?  What's not?  Share your comments...the more vested you are, the more success you'll have.

New Weight Loss Challenge Starts Next Wed!

We're back!  Beth Steur and I will be joined by veteran personal trainer Pam Strike in offering a 2012 Weight Loss Challenge beginning Wednesday, January 18.  That's next week.

Here's the skinny (I think I can, I think I can)....

• Weekly meetings on Wednesdays.  Choose one:  Meet at noon with Beth and Lauran OR meet at 7 p.m. with Beth and Pam. 
• Meetings include weekly goals and Circuit Interval Class (dress for exercise)
• Cost $60 - includes initial evaluation, weekly group exercise with certified trainer, motivation and coaching and cash payout to top three finishers
• Final weigh in is February 22.
• Call Beth 513-390-7468 or Lauran at 513-321-0247

Here's what one challenge winner, Lydia Hirsch, has to say:
"The weight loss challenge put me back on track and I feel better.  I liked joining a group to encourage one another to try their best.  (Lydia joined with her husband, Geoff.)  The weigh-ins each week was encouraging and humbling.  I loved the helpful hints to not eat unnecessarily.  Some of my favorites: drink two glasses of water in the morning; eat smaller meals with healthy snacks in between; eat dinner earlier and use a smaller plate.  Listen to Beth and laugh away the pounds!"

Introducing...new blogger Lauran McHaffie

Hi, I'm Lauran McHaffie, personal trainer and group fitness instructor certified by American Council on Exercise.  Though my initial introduction to the fitness world was taking "aerobics" classes when I was 16, I became a professional in the late '80's teaching in Carmel, Indiana.  Since then, I've taught several formts in several "gyms" and schools in Indianapolis, Toronto and Cincinnati.  I became a certified personal trainer in 1996 and since then have worked with hundreds of people through my previous employment as the Fitness Director at Madeira Health Care Center's, now defunct fitness center.  My forte is functional fitness for healthy aging. 

Currently, I provide small group personal training classes to older adults with my Stay Forever Fit program at CourtHouse Fitness Center in Madeira.  I've been working with many of these people for over a decade trying to help clients make exercise part of their lives with safe, social, effective exercise programs at an affordable rate.

In addition, I have one-on-one clients and am willing to work with them in their homes if needed.  You can also find me teaching group fitness classes at Cincinnati Sports Club, CourtHouse Fitness Center and Urban Active.

Thanks for stopping by.  Check back frequently for information on new programs and fitness tips.