Friday, July 18, 2008

Check Yourself! - Scales, Measurements, Food Diaries & Activity Logs

When it comes to weight, the last thing anyone wants to talk about is accountability. This whole process is difficult enough, but keeping track of what we're doing seems like so much trouble. But this really isn't as much about accountability as it is about charting your success, and finding ways to figure out what went wrong when we hit that inevitable plateau. I must confess, I never was much for scales - avoided them like the plague, and nearly decked the few doctors and nurses who insisted on recording my weight. Measurements were less intimidating, but at some point they're scary too. Nevertheless, we need some way to chart our progress - and by doing so, we will have progress.

For scales, I recommend weighing yourself no more than once a week, preferably at the same time and wearing roughly the same clothing. It's tempting to check daily, especially if you're working out especially hard or feel more deprived than usual on your own personal eating plan. The reason for this is that weight fluctuates, so you'll get a more accurate idea of your progress if you just check weekly. The food and water you eat also has weight, so you'll weigh more after a big meal and less after a hard workout. Really, weekly is best.

Measurements are also something that you should check weekly, because sometimes you will lose inches and not pounds - so it's a good idea to have another method of checking progress to keep from getting discouraged. When it comes to measurements, recording more than the basic 3 (chest, waist, hips) is always a good idea because your arms or legs might be responding faster than your waistline - and we always want to see progress. However, sometimes just starting with your waist measurement is helpful and then move on to others.

Food Diaries may seem laborious, but they really do help track eating and can highlight a problem area. Food diaries can be as simple or complicated as you like, recording any detail from time, location & emotions in addition to food, portion & calories. They can also be very simple, for example, I use a simple excel spreadsheet that auto-totals and I only record the food itself & calories. Everyone is different, and what you might need to know about your eating habits to help you keep on track will be different from someone else. Calories do count, don't let anyone fool you with that, but some of us process certain calories differently. By keeping a food journal, you can spot whether or not you might need to increase protein, adjust carbs, or eliminate certain foods that tend to slow your progress. Not only that, but often you'll re-consider that extra snack if you have to write it down.

Activity logs are the same thing, they can help you track your calorie burning. I often use a simple to-do list for this, but again, it can be as simple or detailed as you like. There's something very powerful about seeing this all written down. And of course, you might want to make sure your activity journal shows something other than sitting in front of the TV. While it's true that people often tend to under-report their intake and over-report their activity, still, on balance, having a record of these things will help keep you on track - and provide a way to troubleshoot any problems that might arise.

There are some great electronic products (BodyBugg or GoFit Armwear band) that actually measure your calorie deficit and when uploaded to a web server will calculate your actual deficit. I'd love one of those - they're just not mac-compatible just yet, so bummer for me. But for those of you on Windows, they really are a great product.

So, whether it's a simple notebook, a more extensive spreadsheet, or a really cool new gadget - check yourself and enjoy seeing your success!

Partnership for Change

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Nutrition Spotlight: Green Tea

When coaching a client, the first question I always get is what supplements should they be taking. That's rarely a health question, because it's not really about a good quality multi-vitamin/mineral product for general health (that yes, everyone should be taking). It's really a question about "what magic bullet can I take for weight loss?" Ok - there is none. Let's get that straight from the very beginning. Well, yes, there are amino acids, minerals & herbs that do have metabolic effects - and they can help, but only when used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan and exercise regimen. No magic pill, drink, or patch will work by itself.

That said, there are benefits to many supplements, and some that you might want to consider taking. We have over-farmed our soil and can't get the nutrition we need from just eating right - and who really does eat right anyway. We need a good quality supplement in general. However, there is a lot being said about green tea these days, and the researchers are only beginning to scratch the surface of its benefits.

Green tea has been shown to help lower cholesterol, boost immunity, fight certain cancers, slow down the wrinkle process, and help with weight loss. Initial research has been done using the polyphenol (catechin) extracts, but there may be more to it than just that alone.

Green tea is a natural antioxidant, helping fight free radical damage in the body (immunity boosting, anti-aging properties, wrinkles and such) and has also been shown to regulate glucose and trigger an increase in metabolic rate. Regulating glucose levels can help decrease appetite, which of course, will contribute to weight loss. However, it can also inhibit fat conversion (storing fat) by keeping the body from experiencing a sudden rise of insulin after meals.

How much? According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "3 - 5 cups per day was shown to increase an average of 4% in energy expenditure over a 24-hour period. However, the research showed that the increased energy only took place during the daytime; therefore, that 4% equated to a 35-43% increase in daytime thermogenesis". What that means is that it will not help you burn calories in your sleep - it works during waking hours. So, can you burn a third or more calories while you're awake just by drinking green tea? Seems so. In real numbers, that works out to about 70 calories per day - so don't think it will burn off that double-cheeseburger you've had your eyes on. In fact, if you add sugar or honey to your tea, you'll probably end up with the antioxidant benefits alone, which is good - but probably not what you're looking for. That said, over the course of a week, that's 490 calories, which is one extra workout at the gym every week - not bad.
Oh, and just in case you were curious, the benefits were the same with decaffeinated tea as they were with the fully leaded variety.

Drinking that much unsweetened green tea may be difficult for some, so a good quality supplement may be just the ticket. However, since they've just begun to discover the benefits of green tea, I would suggest both drinking a couple of cups a day and taking a supplement. Now, I'm not talking about those green tea weight loss supplements that are on every store shelf. Those products contain various herbs and such that purport to help burn fat - doubtful. What I am talking about is a good quality green tea supplement, preferably decaffeinated, that has a high concentration of catechins to help supplement your already healthy lifestyle. TeGreen by Pharmanex is my favorite - it has the catechins of 7 cups of green tea, fully decaffeinated (I like my caffeine from coffee, thank you very much), and that's all it contains - only green tea extract, no random herbs or empty promises. So, one tablet a day and then, if you like, drink a couple of cups for the as-yet-undiscovered-benefits of green tea.

For more information, go to: Partnership for Change.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Get Moving!

Who didn't know we'd have to address exercise - bet you thought we could avoid this subject altogether. Quite frankly, sometimes I'd like to avoid it too, but there really is no getting around the fact that in order to get healthy and lose weight, you have to be active. Our sedentary lifestyle is not the only culprit in today's epidemic of obesity, but it certainly is one of the major players.

Now, don't just run off and join a gym and hit every machine until you fall down into a lifeless lump on the floor and can't move the next day. Blitzing your body is no way to success. What's important is to start small, with something you can do comfortably, and build from there. Your body is an amazingly efficient machine and will adapt to any circumstance you present it with. So, if you start out with a 2-hour workout, you can be assured that the first plateau you hit will require you to increase your workout or reduce your calories in order to proceed. Let's not do that just yet.

Start with a walk around the block, or take a class that you love (or at least don't hate), try one of those DVD's you have collecting dust on your shelf, dance around your house to your favorite song. Just do something, anything, then tomorrow do it again. Do the same thing every day for a week, be consistent. Then next week, add to that - build it up until you are consistently doing some movement for 30 minutes every single day. Then, build from there, until you are doing 45-minutes every day. That's your goal, but start with whatever you can do. If it's 5 minutes, that's 5 minutes you weren't moving yesterday. It won't take long before this becomes a natural part of your life.

Now, if you want or need a gym, by all means join one - just make sure you go every day, don't waste that membership on another card that takes up space in your wallet. Gyms can be fun, and there's variety there, but they cost money and may or may not be convenient. But if that's what you want to do, or need to do to keep motivated, by all means - find one. If you don't want to join a gym, either because of cost or lack of convenience, you might want to get some exercise equipment. Again, something you love or don't hate - and have room for in your home. My favorite thing to do is to scout thrift stores for orphaned equipment at bargain prices - then when you're bored with that one, donate it back and get something else. Recycling at its best!

I won't talk about heart rate and intensity and maximum burn - come on now, you can't open a magazine or turn on the TV without hearing about that. What we're talking about is the hardest thing ever, getting started. Once you have a routine, you can learn all the rules about heart rate, duration, intensity, and anything else you want to fill your head with - just so long as you're moving while your doing it. Then there's which type of exercise burns more calories or works different muscles - who cares, something is always better than nothing. I hate a treadmill, I mean I passionately hate a treadmill - and I avoided it like the plague for about 6 months, choosing the bike instead. I don't love the bike, but I don't hate it either - so that's where I started. Now I alternate with the treadmill - I still don't like it much, but that plateau thing made me have to consider alternatives. Ok, I digress, but you get the point.

How much exercise? Well, while many experts recommend 5 days/week - and that is so much more than most people get, personally I have to do every day. For me, taking one day off leads to many days off - your mileage may vary. Know yourself, if you can be disciplined and stick to the 5-day cardio plan, go for it. If you're a little like me and know that taking a day off leads to a week off, then commit to every day - it will be better for you in the long run anyway. So - enough reading - time to get moving!

Partnership for Change

Friday, June 20, 2008

Have a Drink!

Ok, this is nothing new - and you're probably sick of hearing it, but that doesn't stop it from being true. We've all heard for years that we need to drink more water. 6 - 8 glasses/day is what's recommended, and an additional glass for every 10 -25 pounds you need to lose (again, experts vary in their recommendations). With recommendations like that, water is all many of us would ever have time for. Then, of course, there's all that time spent in the bathroom. Annoying but true, you do need water. And the bathroom thing - your body will adjust so long as you're consistent. Stopping and starting your water intake will restart the whole adjustment process all over again.

So, to recap what you've hear a thousand times, here's how plain old, free (unless you absolutely must pay for bottled) water will help you meet and maintain your weight loss goals:

Drinking more water can
* Keep you from overeating. Your body can't always distinguish between thirst and hunger - so dehydration can feel like hunger. It can also help you feel more full, so you eat less.
* Help relieve water retention. Strange but true, but drinking enough water will help keep your body in balance and prevent water retention. If you don't get enough water, your body will hold on to reserves to prevent dehydration as a survival mechanism - so drinking more water will allow your body to release these reserves and actually prevent water retention.
* Promote faster weight loss. Weight loss burns calories and leaves behind residue that needs to be flushed from the body - drinking enough water will help flush these toxins from your body and keep your metabolism at optimal levels. The liver is what's doing the work here, but if the kidneys aren't sufficiently flushed, it will have to take over and do some of their job too, which means that fat burning is the first item off your liver's plate while it attends to other more critical issues. So, let your liver burn fat by making sure your kidneys have what they need to do their job.

There's also information to suggest that drinking water will help with dry skin, wrinkles, acne, general skin tone, digestion, regulation of body temperature, energy, blood pressure, cholesterol, joint pain, headaches and assorted other issues that are far beyond the scope of what we're discussing here.

Bottled, Filtered or Tap? Well, again, opinions vary - but mostly we come down to taste. I like bottled water, but it can get expensive. We all have our favorite brands, and some are just bottled tap water - so please make sure you aren't paying for that! You can buy a filter (faucet or pitcher) and get many of the contaminants out of tap water and improve the taste. It's a very green alternative, and much cheaper than bottles. You can also hybridize, buy bottled water and then refill your bottle with filtered water. Don't forget to recycle those bottles when you're done, or buy a reusable bottle. Tap water in some places tastes fine, in others there's too much chlorine. It's really up to you, but you can also add a squeeze of lemon juice (or any citrus fruit) to take the edge off the taste. There's also information to suggest that lemon juice also has metabolic benefits - but we're only talking about a very small amount here, but then again, every little bit helps.

Water or just any liquid? Experts often disagree. Many will say 6 - 8 glasses of anything will work, but that doesn't address the bodies need to metabolize the ingredients in other liquids. Water doesn't need any additional processing, so logic would dictate that the greatest benefits would be achieved by pure water. That doesn't mean you can't have your coffee or tea, just that it should be in addition to your water intake and not considered part of your total water needs (for weight loss that is).

Drink up!

Partnership for Change

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Go to Bed!

If you've watched or read the news lately, you can't miss all the stories coming out about the importance of sleep. I expect you'll hear more since, as all the researchers have acknowledged, they've barely touched the tip of the iceberg on how important sleep is to every bodily and mental function. In our crackberry society, where we pride ourselves on being able to function on less and less sleep, this news doesn't come as the welcome breath of fresh air it should. We stay up too late, get up too early, consume as much caffeine and sugar as we can to get our brains and bodies going - and then brag about how well (we think) we're doing on that 5 or so hours of sleep we got last night. These compensation measures only fool ourselves, as our productivity is slower, our metabolism is slower, and the only thing that's working for us is our self-deception in thinking that we're doing just fine.

We now know that adults need 7-8 hours of sleep every night, 8 is better. Every new client I work with has the most trouble with this part of their plan. Diet, exercise, water, anything else, but tell someone that part of their weight loss plan involves committing to 8 hours of sleep every night and that's where I meet the greatest amount of resistance. Truth is, without this success will be much more difficult and much more short-lived.

In case you missed the 60 minutes report that was re-aired recently, researchers are beginning to link the obesity crisis in our nation to our lack of sleep, well, in addition to our addiction on fast food. In a recent sleep study PET scans showed that after only 6 days at 4 hours of sleep per night, healthy college students were already in a pre-diabetic state. Without sufficient sleep, our bodies ability to effectively utilize insulin and regulate glucose can result in both weight gain and diabetes, as well as high blood pressure and heart problems. Then there's the appetite response. Hormones regulating appetite start going haywire and the ones that suppress appetite become decreased while increasing the ones that stimulate appetite. Then, of course, there's the link to depression, which can also have a dramatic effect on slowing down your metabolism.

So - you wonder why you're both tired and hungry all the time.

The one thing you can do to reduce your risk of high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, help with your weight loss or maintenance program, and your mood is simple, free, and easy - Go to Bed!

Partnership for Change

Friday, June 13, 2008

Guilt

The most pervasive problem with any health or weight management program is the problem of guilt. Guilt about where you are, guilt about past failures, guilt about not being able to succeed on your own. Guilt saps your energy, destroys your self-esteem, and will completely ruin any hope of your long-term success and can even stop you before you start. So STOP IT!
Ok, easier said than done, but seriously - we need to reprogram our thinking about this.

Your health is the most important thing you have. Sometimes you have control over certain things, sometimes you don't. Regardless of your health issue, we all need support. Truth is, few of us can "go it alone", and we should feel like we have to try. There's an entire industry of personal trainers, coaches, consultants, and supportive programs that exist because we really do need help to truly be successful. Hollywood, never known as role models, knows this best. Celebrities, often highly driven individuals in their chosen careers, employ trainers and attend programs to get weight off, keep it off, or maintain their current fitness level because their bodies are their careers and they know they need help.

Why do we constantly think we should have to do this alone, or that we should even be able to? Ok, some people are just so driven that they can make it on their own - I'm really not talking to them, and they probably aren't reading this anyway. Those people are rare, the rest of us could use some help and hopefully, by now, aren't afraid to admit it.

Whichever program you choose - and there are many, it should be the right fit for you and your lifestyle.

Programs that provide food, such as Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, LA Weight Loss can be helpful for just starting out and learning portion control. They also provide one-on-one accountability and support from their staff. Still, you will need to learn how to maintain on your own because you're not going to eat their food forever. They often offer low-cost start-up fees, but factor in the cost of food and compare it to your grocery bill. That will give you a better picture of cost; however, if you need the prepackaged meals to keep you on track - and only you know if you do, then it's something to consider.

Programs that provide calorie-control options and, hopefully, teach you how to eat such as Weight Watchers offer group support and accountability. They have a long history of success and work for a lot of people, but not everyone.

There's also the shake & supplement programs (you know who they are). Many are great, but often lack true support and accountability. These programs are best if you find a representative that has a more diversified knowledge base rather than those that have only been trained by the company they represent. Personally, I'm more impressed by those who will tell you there's something you don't need that they sell. That can be a pretty good indicator that they are concerned more about you and your specific needs rather than their sales volume. Also, see if they offer any individual, group or even online support - the best one's do.

Individual coaches, consultants, personal trainers and private specialized clinics often offer the most tailored programs, designed around your particular lifestyle. Of course you'll pay more, but you might stick with it longer because it will be constantly adjusted to your changing needs rather than a one-size-fits-most philosophy.

Then there's the almost-free version, books, articles in magazines with exercises, diets, menus, internet support groups and just plain old online research is great for the highly motivated. Yes, most of those books & articles offer very good advice and will work, if you work it. You can also make your own program from Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, and other pre-packaged products found at the grocery store. You'll have to do your own meal planning, but in the long run you'll need to do that anyway. You should also enlist one of your friends or co-workers as a fitness-buddy, a friend that can offer you support, motivation, and accountability. This is going to require more in the way of your own effort, because you'll need to design your own program, create your own support and accountability network, and define and monitor your own goals. Again, it will work if you work it.

Whether you need a program to help you jump-start a regimen, carry you over a plateau (oh, those awful plateaus!), or spur you on to the finish line, find one that works for you and with your lifestyle. There really isn't a right one, there's just the right one for you.

Partnership for Change

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Determination

Recently I saw a program on daytime television, which I will confess that I rarely watch, but this caught my attention. I honestly can't remember what the show was about, but I remember this one guest, obviously struggling with her health, weight and an ineffective family dynamic, who stated "...you just don't wake up one day and decide to lose weight...". I waited for the host to comment, to address this statement. He is generally an insightful and painfully direct individual, but this time he missed a clear opportunity to hit the nail right on the head.

Yes, that's exactly what you do. One day, regardless of past successes or failures, you physically or metaphorically put your foot down and say ENOUGH! Then, you do something. It doesn't really matter what you do, but you do something. Walk around the block, join a gym - and attend, find a supportive program (more on those later). But what you do, what you must do, is decide and act on that decision. It doesn't matter what you do today, just do it and do the same thing again tomorrow, and every day for a week. Build on what you have done.

This same principle applies to weight loss, general health improvement, strategic business changes, life changes, everything. DECIDE and ACT.

Check back later and we'll talk about supportive programs, general techniques, and other methods to help you achieve your success. But nothing will succeed, repeat - nothing, until you make that decision that today is the day, enough is enough, and no matter what it takes I will succeed!

Partnership for Change

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Make a Global Difference!

Partnership for Change has adopted Nourish the Children as its charity of choice. By partnering with them, we are committed to ending world hunger.

Please consider a one-time, or better yet, recurring donation of Vitameal. Your purchase will be sent to our partner organization (Feed the Children) and provide much needed nutrition to hungry children.

No administrative costs, no worries about where your money goes, just healthy, nutritious meals directly to starving children.

Our goal for 2008 is 100 bags - that's 3,000 meals. Help us meet our goal!

Progress:

* Donations to date: 24 (720 meals!)
* Check back frequently, we'll update you with our progress
* Help us eliminate hunger!


For more information or to donate visit:

Partnership for Change - Donations