What is “wellness” per se?
November 27, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
What is “wellness” per se? There are many definitions, and 20 years ago, wellness didn’t exist. But today, the industry is growing fast, and the term “wellness” is being overused, abused and it is not being used in its appropriate context. Wellness is achieving one’s full potential; it is self-directed and an ever-evolving process. Wellness has seven dimensions: occupational, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, environmental and physical. When all of these dimensions are met, then we are considered whole or complete. Wellness is more than just products to make us feel good or be physically fit.
Here is what each of the seven dimensions mean:
1. Social Wellness. This is how a person contributes to their environment and community and how he or she builds better living spaces and social networks. The social dimension encourages contributing to one’s environment and community.
2. Occupational Wellness. Occupational development is related to one’s attitude about one’s work, and recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in one’s life through work. The choice of profession, job satisfaction, career ambitions and personal performance are all important components of this dimension. To be occupationally well, a person is ultimately doing exactly with what they want to do in life and are comfortable with their future plans.
3. Spiritual Wellness. The spiritual dimension recognizes our search for meaning and purpose in human existence. It does not mean one is religious, but that it is better to ponder the meaning of life and be tolerant of the beliefs of others than to close our minds and become intolerant. Spiritually well people take time out of their day for spiritual growth and learning. They have a clear sense of right and wrong, and they act accordingly.
4. Intellectual Wellness. This dimension recognizes one’s creative and stimulating mental activities as well as expands knowledge and skills while sharing his or her gifts with others. The intellectually well person is open to new ideas, thinks critically and seeks out new challenges. These people will stretch and challenge their minds with intellectual and creative pursuits instead of becoming self-satisfied and unproductive.
5. Emotional Wellness: Emotional Wellness. This dimension includes the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors, including the realistic assessment of one’s limitations, development of autonomy and the ability to cope effectively with stress. Emotionally well people have the ability to express feelings freely and manage feelings effectively. They are also aware of and accept a wide range of feelings in themselves and others.
6. Environmental Wellness. This includes the ability to promote health measures that improve the standard of living and quality of life in the community, including laws and agencies that safeguard the physical environment. The environmentally well person is aware of the earth’s natural resources, conserves energy, buys organic foods and products, and enjoys and appreciates spending time in natural settings.
7. Physical Wellness. This is what we all do well in our health clubs. It is met through the combination of good exercise and eating habits, taking precautions for self-care and receiving appropriate health screenings throughout our lives. It also means taking personal responsibility and care for minor illnesses and knowing when professional medical attention is needed. Physically well people understand and appreciate the relationship between sound nutrition and how their body performs. The physical benefits of looking good and feeling terrific most often lead to the psychological benefits of enhanced self-esteem, self-control, determination and a sense of direction.
So, are you practicing all seven dimensions? Try taking a dimension each week for seven weeks and work on improving in that area. In seven short weeks you should be a more “Well-rounded” person! And no, I’m not talking about your SHAPE!
Good Luck- Deb
Thanksgiving or Thanksliving
November 26, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Thanksgiving has always been for me a time to be thankful for all the blessings in my life. But how do we live thanksgiving? I found the answer to that question in an article written by Wilfred A. Peterson called, The Art of Thanksgiving. In this article he talks about acts of thanksliving. To quote from this piece, Mr Peterson writes:
“The art of thanksgiving is thanksliving.” It is gratitude in action. It is applying Albert Schweitzer’s philosophy: ‘In gratitude for your own good fortune you must render in return some sacrifice of your life for the other life.’
The article goes on to give examples of what how we could live in a thanksliving way:
- By living your life triumphantly
- By being grateful for all who have helped you by you doing things for others
- By striving to make others happy
- By helping to be an inspiration to others
- By living each day to the fullest
- By using your talents and obligations to be invested for the common good
- By facing the challenges of life as a challenge for achievement
- By enjoying what you have and sharing it with others
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all we have, but thanksliving is a way of life that if implemented could improve the quality of life not only for you and me, but for others. Do you live in a thanks giving way?
“Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.”
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Deb 
Turning Good Intentions into Action!
November 25, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Most of us have good intentions when it comes to exercising, watching our portions and eating right. The challenge is turning our good intentions into action.
If you are like most people, the central cause of this disconnect is 2 things:
1) Your attitude
2) Having an all-or-nothing approach to fitness and/or weight loss
Your Attitude:
Staying positive, rolling with the punches and viewing your ability to walk as a true gift has a huge impact on your workout consistency and eating habits. Focus on staying positive and look at all you have to be grateful for instead of what you don’t have or on how challenging it is to “fit in a workout”.
Having an All-or-Nothing Approach:
Taking small steps and being creative are the keys to creating new and sustained habits that last the rest of your life. Who cares if you can only work out for 5 minutes – Do it anyway!
You don’t have to do a 30 minute workout for it to count. And taking a day off or eating too much Ben & Jerry’s should not lead to you beating yourself up the next day. Get back on the horse, roll with the punches and do something positive for your health.
Turn your good intentions into action by having a positive attitude and ditching your all-or-nothing approach to fitness and weight loss. You will be amazed at how this affects your results, energy and health!
Train Hard & Expect Results,
Deb
Don’t Drink Your Calories!
November 24, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Here is a nutrition tip for today. It is plain, simple and blunt. Do NOT drink your calories away. That’s right, eat, eat and eat. That’s not hard for most of us, but NOT drinking calories is a tougher thing to do. Now that it’s getting colder out it is real easy to want to drink the warm fu fu drinks to warm us up….beware of the amount calories that this warmth can pack in.
This Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks could have 410 calories (I bolded the stats that you want to pay attention to).
Serving Size 16 fl. Oz .
Amt Per Serving
Calories 410
Fat Calories 140
Total Fat (g) 15
Saturated Fat (g) 9
Trans Fat (g) 0
Cholesterol (mg) 45
Sodium (mg) 120
Total Carbohydrates (g) 63
Fiber (g) 2
Sugars (g) 54
Protein (g) 13
Caffeine (mg) 175
Think about it. If you eat sugar it takes a little bit of digestion and it hits your blood stream to spike insulin. Now compare that to liquid sugar, next to no digestion to buffer the rate at which the sugar hits your blood stream and spikes that fat storing insulin. Not to mention a liquid sugar will deliver almost 100% of the calories to your bloodstream while a solid food, even as simple as white sugar will be reduced just a little bit by the calories it took to process the sugar to pass into the blood stream.
OK so some of the technicalities out of the way. Think about this. The stomach can only hold about 120 ounces of solids at anytime to be “full” and satisfied. The rate is the same for liquids, but the perception of full or satisfied is much less with liquids than it is with solids. Even crazier is that you can pack in almost 10x the calories in liquid form than you can with solids.
So now you know why I suggest for an instant reduction in fat storage and personal satisfaction to EAT your calories. This is especially true as we rock our way into the next of the triple threat holiday feasts: Thanksgiving!!
Planning Your Thanksgiving Feast
November 20, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and it’s time to plan. Eating more calories than we should at the Thanksgiving dinner has less to do with the turkey and more to do with the side dishes. So many of them are heavy with fats and sugar that just a serving of each favorite thing can really add up.
While there is nothing wrong with one day of indulgence, it helps to develop healthy habits if we learn moderation at that festive meal. We can also find ways to cut the calories on favorite dishes, or serve alternatives that are just as delicious. Turkey is a lean protein and can be the healthy centerpiece of the Thanksgiving feast as long as we don’t smother it with high calorie side dishes.
Having a clear plan of action can smooth the way for an enjoyable, healthy holiday. Aside from roasting the turkey, we need to have a repertoire of great side dishes that won’t break the caloric bank and will blend tradition with nutrition. From the stuffing to the cranberry sauce, a little creativity can improve the nutritional and caloric profile of our trimmings.
If you choose recipes that can be made in advance and reheated in the microwave or served cold, it will help with all the prep time. You can also plan for a few sides that can go from the refrigerator to the table. For example, green beans or asparagus vinaigrette is delicious and easy to prepare. Another choice is a light, colorful vegetable slaw. Skip the mayonnaise on this one and dress it lightly with a little vinaigrette. Making it the day before and allowing the flavors and juices to develop in the refrigerator makes heavy dressing unnecessary.
Some preparation tips:
- Carefully plan the timing of each dish so that you aren’t short of oven space.
- Assign someone to clean up as you work. Washing pots and bowls as soon as they are no longer needed prevents that big pile up near the sink.
- Set out the serving dishes and utensils so you don’t have a last minute scramble looking for the gravy ladle.
- Set the table well in advance. Even children can be taught to do this nicely.
I’ve chosen recipes for the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes.
- Autumn Spiced Sweet Potatoes
- Whole Wheat Turkey Stuffing
- Cranberry Orange Relish
- Fresh Green Bean Casserole
- Corn Spoon Bread Pudding
Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Deb
Just because it’s a reality show doesn’t make it “REALISTIC”!
November 16, 2009 by Deb · 1 Comment
The Biggest Loser – a reality show which is essentially a race to see who can lose weight the fastest – is one of the most popular in Television history. I’ve known about The Biggest Loser since it debuted in 2005 because people ask me all the time what I think of the program and of course, the burning question: “How do they lose so much weight?”
Until now, I’ve only seen video clips, browsed forum threads and read news about the show. To give informed answers to questions in the future, I finally wanted to see first-hand what this was really all about. So I sat through the entire two-hour 8th season premiere on September 15th.
Despite its worldwide popularity, The Biggest Loser is controversial and responses to the show are highly polarized. Most viewers seem to be either die-hard loyal fans who defend the show tooth and nail or critics who loathe the program to the point of disgust or outrage.
Most fitness professionals and personal trainers dislike the show, mainly due to what they say is inappropriate training program design and extreme (teetering on dangerous) overtraining.
The mixed reviews for the show aren’t surprising because The Biggest Loser clearly has pros and cons. Having finally watched a full episode, it reinforced my previous belief that the cons outweigh the pros. But in any complete and objective review, it’s only fair to show both sides, so here they are:
BIGGEST LOSER PROS
The Power of Accountability
Accountability is one of the most powerful motivational forces. The producers of The Biggest Loser have set up the conditions and environment with so much accountability, it’s impossible for contestants not to lose weight. This program uses all four levels of accountability; (1) accountability to self, (2) accountability to a partner, (3) accountability to a group, and (4) accountability to the public.
The Spirit of Competition
The most impressive and dramatic body, health and fitness transformations I’ve ever seen have come as a result of competition. You can count me as one of them. When ever we have a contest at CT it brings out my competitive side. Why? Because competition is motivating and competition brings out the best in most of us. Although there are downsides to the way the Biggest Loser competition is judged, a healthy competition is a good thing in my book.
The drive of emotions
The producers of The Biggest Loser have done a meticulous job with contestant selection by finding individuals with touching life stories (as contrived as they may be, to encourage made-for TV drama ranging from romance to backstabbing).
It’s Television, so they need storylines and human interest and there’s no shortage of that here. I’m sure many viewers have to break out the Kleenex – it’s a real tear jerker that pulls at the heart strings. (I’m sorry to my dear friend Shannon who LOVES the show). At least because she is friends with myself and Carol she does know the show isn’t realistic and she finds it “motivating” as she workouts on her home elliptical while she watches the show….you go girlfriend!
If this program stirs up some emotions in viewers that stimulate them to get up off the couch and start a health and fitness program, then that’s a good thing. People are not inspired to action with logic; they are driven to action with emotion and only later justify their decisions and actions with logic.
Hope and inspiration
Having inspirational role models moves people from “What’s the use; I’ve tried everything and nothing will ever work for me” to, “If they can do it, I can do it.”
I’m tempted to say that these are not the right role models for the public and I do NOT recommend anyone at home try to duplicate what these contestants are doing. However, I can see the value of extreme role models purely for inspiration.
When a 65 year old runs a 135 mile ultra marathon, it makes a 20 or 30-something runner ask, “What’s stopping me from running a paltry 26.2 miles?” If an amputee sprints around a track on prosthetic legs, it makes sedentary able-bodied people, say, “What’s my excuse?” When a 425 pound person loses half his bodyweight, someone with only 40 pounds of excess fat says, “What’s stopping me?”
Seeing those who have already done it forces you to answer, “Nothing was stopping me but my own excuses and limiting beliefs. Now I see it’s not hopeless… it’s possible!”
The reality of hard work
Unlike most weight loss programs which promise results without effort, The Biggest Loser shows the contestants busting their butts. Arguably the biggest loser goes too far, replete with brutal training montages and plenty of crying, screaming, puking and falling down. That’s television for you.
Fitness for life can be enjoyable and even become part of your fun and recreation time. But to think that spectacular and quick results can be achieved without incredibly hard work is naïve. For above average results, it takes an above average effort. For mind blowing results, it takes a mind blowing effort. With effort and hard work, amazing transformations can happen.
BIGGEST LOSER CONS
The Biggest Loser is judged on weight loss, not body composition.
There is no doubt that contestants are losing huge amounts of fat – far above the average, which is usually 1-2 pounds per week. Even obese individuals rarely lose more than 3 pounds of pure fat per week consistently in a real world situation.
The results on the show – often 10 pounds a week with 20-25 not uncommon for first and last week – should not be surprising when you calculate the massive caloric deficit achieved from 4-6 hours of daily training and physical activity, combined with low calorie dieting.
What many fans seem to ignore is that weight loss is not the same as fat loss. Body weight includes muscle, bones, internal organs, water, glycogen and don’t forget the contents of the digestive tract. The weight loss on The Biggest Loser is deceiving. Much of the loss is water. Many contestants may be losing muscle and other lean tissue.
The solution would be simple: judge the competition on body composition, not body weight. Body fat testing is admittedly prone to error, but with the big budget of this show, there’s no reason they couldn’t use gold standard testing methods such as hydrostatic weighing or Near Infrared scans like we use at CT. They used a Body Bug in the last episode, but the contest wasn’t judged on the results of those tests (it was more like, “look how fat you are!”)
What’s most alarming to me is that because the show is judged on weight loss, not body composition, contestants are penalized for gaining muscle and actually rewarded for losing muscle. Think about that one for a while……isn’t that setting them for FAILURE in the future??
Rapid weight loss competition encourages physically dangerous practices
The network, the trainers and other supporters of the show say they do not promote or endorse drugs or any unhealthy methods of weight loss. Official statements notwithstanding, the inherent nature of the show promotes dangerous behavior.
Listen to what Biggest Loser season one winner Ryan Benson had to say on his my space blog:
“I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn’t eat one piece of solid food! If you’ve heard of “The Master Cleanse” that’s what I did. It’s basically drinking lemonade made with water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn’t use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn’t take any drugs, I just starved myself! Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood.
Was this healthy? Heck no! My wife wanted to kill me if I didn’t do it to myself first. But I was in a different place, I knew winning the show could put us in a better place financially and I was willing to do some crazy stuff. All this torture I put myself through has had no lasting effects on me (that I know of) and at the time it was sort of a fun adventure for me – but I am sure it reeked havoc on my system.
In the five days after the show was over I gained about 32 lbs. Not from eating, just from getting my system back to normal (mostly re-hydrating myself). So in five days I was back up to 240 – crazy!”
It’s unknown whether any Biggest Loser contestants have taken diuretics (they’re not allowed, but then again Major League baseball players aren’t allowed to take roids either). The greater the rewards and monetary incentives, the greater the willingness to cheat. One thing that’s clear is that even non-drug manipulation of water and electrolyte balance is incredibly dangerous. Would you trade $250,000 for a kidney?
The media often sensationalizes anabolic steroids as a big problem in sports and performance enhancement. What’s been underplayed is another drug used (un-medically supervised) by athletes to shed water and make weight classes – diuretics. It’s not the steroids, but the diuretics, combined with extreme dieting, which have resulted in more confirmed deaths, coronary events, kidney problems and emergency room visits.
Benson wasn’t alone. Kai Hibbard (season 3) answered a question about this on her my space blog:
Q: I’m curious on just how much did you all dehydrate yourselves before the BIG WEIGH IN?
A: I dehydrated off 19 pounds in the last two weeks before the BIG weigh in. I stopped eating solid food after eating only protein and asparagus (a diuretic) then I had two colonics and spent the night before the weigh in and out of a sauna, there really was no “diet” the day of the weigh in, we weigh in as dehydrated as possible on empty stomachs after 2 hour workouts in the morning.
As with Benson, Hibbard’s final week weight came flying back:
“I actually put on about 31 pounds in two weeks. After my body had a chance to stabilize I spent all last year hovering between 159 and 175, I fight everyday to find some stability.”
The Biggest Loser pushes overtraining to the point of high injury risk
On the first season 8 episode, just minutes after getting off the bus, contestants faced the first workout “challenge.” The group of morbidly obese contestants (weighing up to 460 pounds), were instructed to take a 1 mile run down the beach. It was NOT a go at your own pace type of thing, it was a RACE with a prize for the winner.
One of them collapsed just short of the finish line, at first looking dehydrated and fatigued and then progressing into looking seriously ill, incoherent and unconscious. She was flown by a life flight chopper to the hospital. The hospitalization was weaved into the drama of the episode, but alarmingly trivialized.
It was not the first time. Contestants from previous seasons have also been admitted to the hospital and one suffered a stress fracture.
Later during the workout, contestants were shown climbing a Jacob’s ladder, pushing sleds, doing intense cardio and calisthenics, lifting weights and performing plyometrics. These did not look like beginner-level workouts and the form on some of the exercises was sloppy enough to make a certified personal trainer cringe.
Before the show (off camera), the contestants took a stress test to screen out people who might be at risk for a heart attack, and no doubt, they all signed airtight liability releases. There was also a disclaimer on the screen for the viewing audience. But aside from that, there seemed to be a disturbing absence of proper risk warnings in light of the physical tasks they were asked to perform.
There was also no mention that 4-6 hours of training per day for weight loss is gross overtraining, almost certain to bring overuse injuries, and something that no one at home should EVER try to emulate, even if they could.
The Biggest Loser has no relevance to real world situations
The producers of The Biggest Loser have created the perfect environment for success. Contestants have personal trainers, nutritionists, group support, accountability, a national audience, and the biggest carrot imaginable – a prize of $250,000 and a potential platform to launch a motivational speaking or fitness career.
The participants move out of their homes and onto The Biggest Loser “Ranch” where they have no job other than losing weight. There are no kids to worry about, no work, no social obligations, and no chores, nothing – just working out and dieting.
This is a totally artificial and controlled environment with no relevance to the average person. In the real world, people who work out 4-6 hours a day for weight loss are not called inspirational and dedicated, they are called obsessive-compulsive or exercise anorexics.
Shouldn’t contestants (and viewers) be taught to exercise in a way that fits into a normal person’s daily life, between work, family and social obligations? Achieving health and fitness as part of total life balance is probably one of the biggest missing pieces in the obesity crisis, yet you won’t find solutions for that challenge on The Biggest Loser.
The Biggest Loser trainers are walking a fine line between tough love and abuse
I’ve listened to an interview or two with Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels and she was motivating, informative and seemed like a good spokesperson for fitness. That’s why I was shocked by her yelling profanities in the face of the contestants. She was using profanities like crazy.
I believe strongly that a good coach sometimes has to get in a client’s face and be very tough. People are motivated by different styles of leadership and coaching, but in general, most people need to be pushed, not coddled, out of their comfort zones and they will always perform beyond what they believed they could accomplish when they are put under pressure.
On The Biggest Loser, normal rates of weight loss are penalized and frowned on as failure
One of my first exposures to this show was a video clip of the weigh ins, which I saw a couple years ago. A blue team member lost 20 pounds in one week. Mouths were open, gasps were heard, and jaws were hitting the floor, followed by congratulations and applause.
When the other blue teammate stepped on the scale and registered “only” an 8 pound loss, the congratulations quickly faded, heads were shaking, facial expressions turned to contempt and blue team member number two sulked off in shame because it appeared as if she did something horribly wrong and that only one member of the team pulled her weight.
When an 8 pound weight loss is seen as a failure, imagine what viewers at home will think about a perfectly normal 1-2 pound weekly weight loss.
The Biggest Loser encourages unrealistic weight loss expectations
Surely any clear-thinking person realizes The Biggest Loser is a contest and at home they are NOT going to drop 25 pounds their first week and 8-10 pounds every week after that. However, more and more people are posting on forums online and asking their trainers why they “only” lost 3-5 pounds their first week or why they can’t lose more than 2 pounds per week.
When people get discouraged with perfectly reasonable weight loss, it makes our job as fitness professionals and health educators much harder. This is a big reason why most trainers hate this show.
Do you know how difficult it is to persuade a Biggest Loser fan that 3 pounds per week is exceptionally good fat loss? A 3 pound weekly weight loss of pure fat is outstanding and above average, but it’s more difficult than ever today to get people to accept slow and steady weight loss as a best practice for healthy, maintainable results. I suggest my clients try to lose 1% of their body weight per week, that’s safe and it’s realistic!
Is it fair to pin the blame on one reality TV show? Well, not entirely. We can pin blame on a combination of human nature and the approach of the weight loss industry at large, including diet programs, pill and supplement advertising, especially those which show “results not typical” (or even phony) before and after pictures. But reality TV courtesy of The Biggest Loser is certainly one of the culprits.
The Biggest Loser teaches you absolutely nothing about setting realistic goals. It actually encourages the opposite.
The Biggest Loser does not teach real-world lifestyle strategies
I haven’t watched enough of the show to assess whether the participants are given any kind of nutrition, exercise and health education that they can take home with them and make a part of their lifestyles for the long term.
Even if the contestants get psychological counseling, fitness education, motivational tools and time with dieticians – off camera or on – the structure of the competition leads me to think it is all for naught.
Participants and viewers are not learning about nutrition and training as a lifestyle, because the inherent nature of the show only teaches them how to crash diet, crash exercise and achieve short-term weight loss.
In particular, where is the emphasis on nutrition? I guess there’s not much time to film nutrition education when 45 minutes of the show is spent on the high drama of the weigh-in and elimination round.
The Biggest Loser doesn’t focus on lifelong maintenance
Weight loss is easy. Whether you lose 1-2 pounds a week or 10 pounds a week, either way, maintenance is going to be the true challenge.
A study from Oxford showed that 80% of weight losers will gain all the weight back within 3-5 years. A report from the National Weight Control Registry suggested that this relapse rate could be as high as 95%.
It’s not a foregone conclusion that you’ll regain weight after a large and or rapid weight loss. Some can keep it off. Most won’t, and if you lose weight rapidly, the odds are against you. Without a plan for maintenance, the odds are close to nil.
Where is the focus in The Biggest Loser on teaching contestants maintenance strategies for keeping the weight off after they get back into the real world?
“The Biggest Loser”: Much worse than a clever name
I have one final con; more of a personal pet peeve, really. I despise the name of the show. No one wants to be a loser. Anyone who sets a goal and achieves it is a winner, but in this show, if you win, you’re a loser.
The words “lose” and “loser” should be stricken from your vocabulary. Release, shed, discard, incinerate, and burn are much better words and for your own sake, please don’t call yourself a loser.
“But it’s just semantics, Deb.” Precisely, and the hidden meanings of words, names and labels carry great power. They can shape a person’s identity, affect self-esteem and influence behavior.
Conclusion
As a show so widely broadcast and publicized, which spotlights the worldwide obesity problem and encourages people to do something about it, The Biggest Loser could have been something great. But it falls short in many areas. There are unredeemable flaws weaved into the very fabric of the show.
The trainers and physicians get on their soapboxes and tell the contestants how sick they are. But is this show really about health? Depending on how you approach it, getting skinny doesn’t always mean getting healthy – physically or psychologically.
Not only do the cons outweigh the pros, if you go back and look at my list of positive qualities in the show, you can find every one of them somewhere else in a healthier context. It’s important to have role models, but this show is no model for physically and emotionally healthy weight loss.
The Biggest Loser is just Television, where the bottom line is ratings and sponsors. If you can, draw some inspiration from the show, but not your education. If you watch, then please recognize this show for what it is – entertainment; show business. Nothing more, nothing less. I challenge the show to do a “realistic” season next year….follow YOU in your real life, working full-time, running kids here and there, preparing your own meals etc. They could help people learn how to fit realistic workouts into their already crazy schedules, and help them learn to prepare healthy meals for their families. The WINNER would be the person who lost the most over-all body fat percentage, which would NOT help if you lost muscle mass or water…..that would truly be a show worth watching and it would be called “THE BIGGEST WINNER”!
Deb
“You Can’t Out Train A Bad Diet!”
November 14, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Let’s us look at a case scenario to make my point. Let’s call it the Pizza VS Cardio contest between Carol (other CPT at CT) and myself! I love this test because I’m the one getting to eat the pizza….sorry Carol!
So Carol jumps on a treadmill and cranks it up to the absolute maximum speed with a slight incline (without falling off) and starts sprinting.
While Carol is busting her butt at 12.0 MPH, killing herself to lose fat, I am standing beside her consuming a box of pizza.
After about 3 minutes, I have consumed 800 calories (half a pizza) and Carol has burned 42 calories!
Get what Carol and I have said a million times…..you CAN out eat ANY workout…….
Moral of the story is – you CAN NOT out train a bad diet!
Carol and I know this from personal experience folks….learn from us!!!!
No matter what program you are following….one fact remains the same; if you are trying to lose weight you MUST burn more calories than you take in PERIOD! Nothing magical about that…..just the cold hearted truth!
So, if you are trying to lose weight here are some basic rules to follow:
1. Don’t starve yourself….try reducing you calories by 250 calories a day. This won’t make you feel like you are being deprived and yet by the end of the week it adds up to 1,750 calories…that’s a half a pound of weight that you should lose at the end of the week!
2. Burn off 250 calories a day with exercise. Here again this won’t make you feel like a slave to the gym, but will give you an additional deficit of 1,750 calories so now you will have lost 1 pound by the end of the week!
Now, there are many other things I could list that would help you lose weight, but if you can just start by causing a caloric deficit by simply reducing input and by burning some off this will be a sure way to kick your weight loss into gear!
Remember consistency pays…..do these 2 simple things and each week you should lose 1 pound….in 1 years time you could be 52 pounds lighter!!! Get started TODAY! By the end of this year you could be down 6 pounds starting the New Year off RIGHT!
Train Hard & Expect Results,
Deb
Why you need to put your oxygen mask on FIRST!
November 14, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Recently, I took a flight to Hollywood, Florida to get on the cruise ship Carnival Freedom. While we were preparing to depart from the gate, the flight attendants began their “In case of emergency” speech. There has been a certain part of the speech that has always bothered me. Not just the fact that you can tell by their mono-tone-versed voices that they have said this so many times that most people simply tone them out and don’t even listen. If that alone didn’t bug me, the rest of their instructions always got me upset! The flight attendants always say that if the cabin was to lose pressure that oxygen masks would fall from the overhead compartment. If you are sitting next to a small child that you need to put on your own oxygen mask before you help put on the small child’s oxygen mask. As a parent, that instruction did not sit well with me. My children would be my number one priority in a dangerous situation. My parental instinct and love would kick in to ensure their safety.
So I did a little research to understand why they give us this actual instruction. The information that I found out actually makes this bizarre command an important one to follow. If the cabin was to lose pressure, a person has about thirty seconds until they lose consciousness…more if one has good aerobic capacity, less if one’s out of shape. So, at least I had one advantage!! An adult actually uses more oxygen and uses it faster than a small child, especially in dangerous situations. By putting on your mask first, you actually buy more time to help the small child. By trying to help the small child first, you may end up jeopardizing the child as well as yourself. You could lose consciousness before you managed to put the oxygen mask on the small child. At that point, who will put the mask on your child?? Who will put your mask on?? By putting on your mask first, you increase your child’s survival rate and it saves your life in the process.
We need to make sure that we are putting on our oxygen mask first in our everyday lives. We can become so occupied with serving and meeting the needs of others that we leave little or no time to ensure that our needs are being met. Jesus tells us in John 15, how critical it is to stay connected to Him. If we are not residing in Him, we are not going to be able to bear fruit. If we don’t bear fruit, we pretty much become useless. It may seem like a noble and selfless act to put other people needs first, but you actually may cause more harm than good. We are not going to be of any use to the people in our important relationships if we are empty, drained and burnt out.
Think about how this relates to your health and your kids health. You need to take care of yourself and be as healthy as possible to be able to do the best job possible taking care of your kids.
Honestly, think about it for a second. Skipping breakfast, not having healthy snacks during the morning and afternoon, not staying hydrated, not working out, etc. do not put you in the best spot TO BE YOUR BEST YOU!
I know you do it because you are a good parent and you care so much about your kids that you put all your focus and energy into them. But you are at your best when you take care of yourself and when you are “on” is when you are able to be the best parent, spouse, friend, etc.
Also, your kids follow your lead when it comes to exercise and healthy habits.
When my girls were young they used to attend my classes and “helped” me teach….some of you may remember that! By the way, they are now 21, 20 and 17!!! It taught them that exercise was important and something that everyone needs to do….not just those who wish to lose weight. So please consider the importance of being a healthy role model for your kids and others. This is a priceless gift you are giving.
Invest some of your limited time and energy in yourself and it will pay off many times over for your kids and your whole family.
Here a few suggestions to help put your oxygen mask on first:
1) Make sure you are spending time abiding in Him. (John 15:5) – Focus on quality rather than quantity.
2) Take care of yourself physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. (1 Cor 3:16)
3) Learn to set healthy boundaries. – This means you can actually say no to people. It is not a sin to say no. Jesus, who was perfect, disappointed people. Here’s one way to put it: “Nice isn’t one of the fruits of the Spirit. Being kind doesn’t mean you always say “yes,” it means that you learn to say “no” kindly. (Mark 1:29 -38)
4) To get your whole family having some FUN, try playing the TV game. When a commercial comes on everyone has to do a certain exercise and do a different one every commercial. Take turns letting family members choose the exercise and you may just get fit watching TV. It will probably be the only time I tell you to watch TV so have some fun!
Good luck and have fun!
Deb
Southwestern Chicken Pizza
November 13, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
- 6 multi-grain flatbread wraps (Flatout Multigrain w/Flax preferred)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 3-5 oz chicken breast
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 cup jalapeno peppers
- 1 cup green chili peppers
- 2 cups black beans
- 1 medium avocado
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Lay flatbread wraps on a baking sheet.
- Pour 2 cups of drained black beans into a bowl and mash with a fork.
- Spread mashed beans on the flatouts. Leave a 3/4-inch border around the edges of the flatbread
- Divide 1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese, 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of chopped cilantro, 1 cup of sliced jalapenos, 1 sliced medium onion, and 1 cup of chopped green chili peppers between the flatbread.
- Bake pizza for about 13 minutes or until crust is crisp and toppings are heated through.
- Top with diced avocado and cilantro.
- Slice and serve.
Cook time: 17 minutes
Serves: 6
Calories: 480
Protein: 50g
Total Fat: 20g
Saturated Fat: 8g
Carbohydrates: 24g
Dietary Fiber: 9g
Invite me over…….Enjoy!
Deb
Don’t sabotage your results by taking the weekend off!
November 13, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
The weekend represents almost 1/3 of our week (29%), so if you work hard during the week to nail your workouts and watch your nutrition and then slack off all weekend, you end up not really getting anywhere. It is like taking 3 steps forward during the week and then taking 2 or 3 steps back each weekend and the result is no or minimum results.
Don’t give yourself the “it’s the weekend” excuse to blow off your workouts and to eat badly. You are better than that and you are doing too much quality work during the week to let this happen anymore. Today is a new day and this weekend should be the first weekend that does not set you back. No Excuses!
This weekend may be one of our last nice weekends, so take your workout outside. If you haven’t tried a HIIT workout yet, try a sprint/recover. Sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds followed by walking for 30 seconds to recover. Repeat that 1 minute interval up to 20 times for an awesome kick booty workout! Don’t forget to warm up and cool down and last but not least STRETCH!
Train Hard & Expect Results,
Deb