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!)