You wake up feeling sick: Head hurting, stomach squirrely, very tired, and thirsty. You know you shouldn’t have done it but you did anyway. You pop some pain killers, drink a gallon of water, eat some carrots and swear you won’t ever do it again. But you will – in less than a month. And once more you will feel awful. What did you do? Overindulge with food – and suffering the proverbial “binge hangover.”

Holiday Hell

The Holiday season is starting again, and with it comes the constant parties, gatherings, and family get-togethers. Everywhere we look there is food, food, and more food. Most people have a hard time resisting the temptation, but for those of us with food issues the Holidays are the equivalent of hell.

No one would bring an alcoholic to a bar and tell him that just one drink won’t hurt. No one would leave a prescription drug addict alone in a pharmacy and encourage them to use whatever drugs they want “just for today.” Yet – how many people encourage you to eat at Holiday gatherings, telling you that “one day won’t hurt,” “you can start tomorrow,” or “don’t be so rigid?”

One day will hurt.

And tomorrow you may feel so bad about yourself and your lack of control that you won’t regain it, pushing your “fresh start” further out of reach.  That is the scary truth.

Losing the Battle with Food

As someone who lost 82 pounds five years ago (and regained 22 of them over the last two years), I can testify to the negative powers of Holiday pressure. Just three short years ago I could eat here and there throughout the Holidays and not overindulge. Food was just food and a cookie was just a cookie. Then the stress of life started to get to me and I gave in, reverting back to some of my old habits, where one yummy cookie became an entire tray of stress-relieving happiness. I had once again lost the battle with food, and given up my ability to say “no.”

But I’ve already blown it…

Learning to control Holiday eating is a common problem. Aidalyn Soliman Myers of Murrieta lost 60 pounds in the last two years and expresses a sentiment shared by many. “My biggest thing is eating something early in the day and thinking to myself, ‘Well, I already ruined it, so I’m going to go all out today and pig out!’” Myers, who recently became a certified Spinning® instructor and teaches other group fitness classes, had to alter her mindset to keep her weight at bay. “Now, I changed my way of thinking and try to eat healthful after that and tell myself that every bit counts, so eating healthy even after falling off the wagon will definitely count!”

Alana Estrada Clarke, a Murrieta personal trainer, Spinning and Pilates instructor with legs that turn even women’s heads, uses her brain instead of her feelings to get through Holiday meals. “I don’t skip breakfast or lunch on the ‘big day’ with anticipation of a large meal,” she says. “When you do that, you end up consuming more calories by being starved, and your metabolism will slow down in response to the lack of food.” (Read Clarke’s other Holiday eating tips.)

It’s you – and only you – for the Holidays

As a trainer, Spinning instructor and motivational coach I should know better. But, like many people, I am human, sometimes weak – and easily led to the “dark side” of eating. The moment of joy, of relief, of sensory pleasure as the brownie hits my lips is indescribably wonderful and almost worth the price. But only almost. With my pants tight and “muffin top” once again part of my life, this Holiday season I am taking control back. Starting today. And tomorrow, which happens to be Thanksgiving.

What are you going to do this Holiday season? Let food control you or will you control your food? The choice is always up to you.

The amount of exercise you need a day is a difficult question to answer.

Celebrities often claim to exercise two hours a day. On TV, weight loss shows feature people exercising more than four hours each day. Health advocates say 30 minutes of daily activity is enough to keep you healthy.

So…how much exercise do you really need?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, it’s more than previously thought.

With 66% of the U.S. adult population either overweight or obese, weight management has become an urgent issue. It seems the more we obsess about weight, the fatter we become. Where “thin is in,” we are not…thin. Or healthy.

An updated “Position Stand” just published in the February 2009 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official journal of the American
College of Sports Medicine features revised exercise time recommendations for three categories:

Preventing weight gain
Weight loss
Preventing weight regain

PREVENTING WEIGHT GAIN

It’s easier to keep your weight down than to try to lose what you’ve already gained. 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise, i.e. walking, is enough to do just that. Roughly translated, 150 minutes is about 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

Think that’s too much? How much time do you spend watching TV? Surfing the web? Talking on the phone? Sitting at a coffee shop? It’s probably more than 30 minutes each day. But the good news? Studies have shown that breaking your exercise session up, for example into three 10-minute bouts, is just as effective as one longer session. So walk during your morning break, take the stairs, or walk the kids home from school. Baby steps. 10-minute baby steps.

WEIGHT LOSS

More than 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity is recommended for modest weight loss benefits. However, more than 250 minutes per week provides significantly greater amounts of weight loss.

250 minutes per week – how much is that per day? Hmmm. That’s about 50 minutes per day, five days a week. Still not that bad. 20 minute walk in the early morning, 10 minute walk during a break, 20 minute walk after dinner. Or a 1-hour group exercise class four days a week, plus one short walk.

Significant weight loss is worth it, isn’t it?

WEIGHT LOSS MAINTENANCE

ACSM states there is evidence that more than 250 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity will prevent weight regain.

One would hope so, and yes, that is a lot. But for those of us who have lost a large amount of weight, our bodies will always fight to regain it. We have to work harder than “non-previously fat people.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

These are ACSM’s recommendations for “moderate-intensity physical activity.” But as many experts will tell you, there are ways to exercise less and still reap weight loss and health benefits.

Exercise at a higher intensity to burn more calories overall. Perform intervals while walking, running or cycling (work very hard for 20 seconds, then recover for at least three times that amount, work very hard again, then recover)

Do multiple-muscle or large muscle exercises (squats, lunges, side steps with bicep curl, full pushups, ball rollouts), kettlebell training, bootcamps, or circuit training.

Strength train. Like most fitness professionals, ACSM also recommends strength training as part of a health and fitness regimen in order to increase muscle mass and further reduce health risks.

My general rule of thumb? If you can read a magazine or book while exercising, it’s too easy. Focus on the work, and exercise harder, but for a shorter time period. Make each minute count. Walk and chat with your friends, sure, as part of your “30-minutes a day” general rule. But work with intensity for weight loss.

“Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it.”
~Author Unknown

Precisely.

–

Q: So, where do you fall in all of this? Do you think it’s possible to get that much exercise? Do you have any tips to share on how you fit it in? Let us know!

(written for LAs the Place.com)

Now that temperatures are soaring, exercise may be the last thing on your mind. That hot, sticky feeling is often a great workout de-motivator.

However, we have an opportunity to turn this de-motivator into a motivator: exercising in the pool. Using water as a way to get in shape is both effective and fun. No longer associated only with seniors, aquatic fitness allows us work our bodies hard, yet stay cool and comfortable.

Athletes, housewives, rehabilitation patients and even children are catching this next wave in fitness, and a wide variety of workout options are now available.

(continue reading at LAs the Place)

(written for Suite101.com)

Weight loss is a challenge. But here are a few simple tricks that will help you on your road to weight loss success. They are simple, free and most of all – painless.

(continue reading at Suite101.com)

(written for lastheplace.com)

If sweating and grunting in a room full of strangers is not for you, do not fret. An effective workout can be had inexpensively in the privacy of your own home or office. All you need are a few basics and some creativity.

Continue reading at www.lastheplace.com

(Written for CitiHealth Publications)

Every January begins the same: You vow to eat better, exercise and become healthier and fitter. A few months later you read an article on “bikini bodies by June” and wonder, “What happened to those vows?”

You are not alone. 60 percent of people drop their fitness resolutions within six months of making them. This year, be one of the 40 percent who succeeds. With these 11 steps, it’s easier than you imagine.

1. Consistency. Make exercise a part of your life. It doesn’t matter what it is or how much, just move your body. Be consistent. Small moves add up and make a difference if performed regularly. No one mastered anything by doing it only occasionally.

2. Fit exercise into your life, not vice versa. A little here, a little there is better than nothing at all. Try to increase your daily physical activity. Take the stairs, park farther away, bring groceries in one bag at a time, pace while you talk on the phone, or conduct meetings standing up. The more you move throughout your day, the more calories you burn.

3. Play. Your child can ride his or her bike or scooter while you run or walk briskly. Throw a ball around together. Hula hoop. Play tag, swim or dance. Make fitness a family affair and everyone benefits, both physically and emotionally.

4. Gather with friends. Instead of meeting at the local coffee house, grab your friends and walk. Go on bike rides together, hike the hills or dance the evening away. There is strength in numbers.

5. Exercise before work or during your lunch hour. Morning and lunch hours at gyms are usually less crowded. Pick a gym close to work so you can shower and head straight (or back) to the office. Exercising earlier in the day can boost your success rate, too, as unscheduled events tend to disrupt evening workout plans.

6. Make workouts shorter but harder. You can make changes to your body and health in a short amount of time, especially if you put some effort into it. Instead of
resting between sets, alternate between exercises or circuit train. Work each muscle until it fatigues and train several muscle groups simultaneously. Keep the intensity high when time is premium.

7. Use your heart. Add some heart rate raising elements to your strength-training program. Perform jumping jacks, skips or shuffles between sets, or try bench step-ups. Keep your heart rate elevated during the standing portions of your workout to maximize calorie burn.

8. Less than an hour? No problem! Block out 30-minutes for exercise most days of the week. Work your core and lower body one day, upper body the next, cardiovascular system the following. You will be surprised at how much you can accomplish with a minimal investment of time. Find the hour of day that works best for you and be consistent.

9. Do it with love. Indoor cycling? Martial arts? Tennis? Boot camp? Aquatic fitness? Find a form of exercise that really appeals to you. If you anticipate the workout, you are more likely to stay true to it in the long run.

10. Fake it ‘til you feel it. Instead of considering exercise punishment, treat is as, well, a treat. Look forward to your workouts — they are a break from your stressful day. They boost your mood, give you time for yourself (or to socialize with other likeminded individuals) and help you feel energized. Tell yourself how much you are looking forward to your sessions. Pretty soon you will believe it.

11. Consistency. A typo that consistency is repeated twice? No, because consistency is the key. Once you begin to skip workouts, return to elevators instead of stairs and no longer walk the kids to school, the days turn into weeks, the weeks turn into months and the months turn into years – years of doing nothing. Do something as many days of the week as you can, even if it’s only 10 or 15 minutes. Day after day of some form of exercise will reap rewards, but day after day of nothing will not. It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be that hard, but it has to be regular.

About your resolution? You, and only you, have the power to make this year’s resolution stick. Do it. And have a fitter 2008.

(by Helen Ryan. written for LA’s the Place)

Not much happening in the metabolism department? Need a change to get things going? Here are eight (nearly) painless ways to stoke your metabolic fire.

Continue reading at LA’s the Place….

Fitness Over 40
(by Helen Ryan. written for lastheplace.com)

You exercise sporadically. You eat about the same as you always have. Then one day you can’t button your pants. What gives?

Hormonal changes and loss of lean body mass (muscle) contribute to this waist creep – the expansion of our waistlines we tend to experience as we approach, and pass, our 40s.

On average, women lose five pounds of muscle per decade after 18 years of age. If we continue to eat as we did when we were younger, the issue of calories in versus calories out comes strongly into play. But keeping the creep at bay is easier than you think.

BLAST THE FAT
We know it. We’ve heard it. We’ve read it. But we are so busy with our careers, our lives and our families that we don’t want to admit it. There is no “magic pill” for losing weight and staying, or getting, into good physical shape. The bottom line is we have to eat healthy….and sweat more.

Food: Simply put, we need to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables; consume whole grains and high-fiber foods; limit saturated and trans fats; cut down on sugars and simple carbohydrates; and limit alcohol. Controlling portion sizes is key, too. Don’t deprive yourself of what you want. Eat healthy – most of the time. And indulge – a little. It’s all about balance.

Exercise: 30 minutes most days of the week is recommended for general health. But to keep our lean mass up and our body fat percentage down we need to add just a little more effort.

Fidget
According to Len Kravitz, M.A., Ph.D., program coordinator of exercise science and a researcher at the University of New Mexico, people who fidget burn an additional 352 calories per day than people who do not fidget. Those extra 352 calories can add up to a yearly net loss of about 36 pounds! So fidget, take the stairs, park farther away, pace while talking on the phone, walk to a colleague’s desk, conduct meetings standing up or walking around, dance, exercise while watching TV, make housework brisk, walk the kids to school, garden…be as “inefficient” as possible, making as many trips and taking as many steps as you can.

Structured exercise
BREAK IT UP
Rise 20 minutes earlier to fit in some strength training and core work. Then break up your 30 minute “most days of the week” cardio into 10- or 15-minute increments throughout the day, or however it fits into your life. Your goal is to reach 200-300 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week. Write down how much you exercised each day in a cheap calendar or a journal, then total the week. Keep adding to it until you’ve reached your 300 minutes – and exercise has become a way of life.

GET THE COMBO
Use large muscle groups. Combine movements. Pushups work wonders for the upper body. Or try a stability ball “wall squat” with bicep curl. Use as many muscles as possible within each exercise. Now’s the time to be creative.

CRANK THE INTENSITY
Less time means higher intensity. Work each muscle until fatigue with a weight you can lift at least eight times but no more than 15. Experiment with a circuit. Add intervals to some of your cardio.

BURST FORTH
Between exercises, add a jump, a jack or a shuffle. Not only does this raise your heart rate and increase total calorie burn, but it also adds bone-protecting impact to your workouts.

SWITCH IT
Our bodies need variety to see results, and as we grow older we are more susceptible to overuse injuries. So protect your joints and muscles, and challenge your body, by shaking things up.

Your body is an amazing machine. Take care of it and it will take care of you.