Christmas and Hannukah have passed - it's New Year's celebrations and then were onto 2018. Before the Holidays are even over, people are beating themselves up over what they've eaten and drank, and resolved to cure the ills in January.
And really, there's plenty of incentive to. Besides whatever weight you may have put on or conditioning you may have lost in the five week Holiday period, everyone is in the same boat. Due to rushing around, attending family gatherings, office parties, etc., just about everyone is ready to buckle down in January. Every television commercial seems to be for a weight loss plan, and January is a month devoid of distractions. It's back to work, and back to the gym!
I start my training for the Long Branch Half-Marathon, held the first weekend in May. With that event looming, my treadmill workouts start to get a little more purpose. Besides, cruising along for six or seven miles and watching the news, I'm spicing it up with "repeat miles" (5 x 1-mile at approximately 7:30 mile pace, with a three-minute walk in-between), or something similarly torturous. Without the carrot of the race, a workout like that seems excessive and senseless. With the half-marathon to think about, it's "pace work" that mentally brings me back to a younger, faster self (who once had cartilage in the knees)!
It's important to have goals when training. It keeps you motivated. It doesn't necessarily have to be a competition, per se. It could be completing a charity bike ride, trying to get an unassisted pull-up, or being able to run one mile on the treadmill. I grimace a bit when a client's sole aim is weight loss. You can literally starve yourself, smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, or down eight cups of coffee. You'll lose weight, for sure, but will you be healthier for it?
We have a program at Mountain Fitness called Biometrics, that I really like. It's set up by nutritionists, and takes into account people's food preferences, as well as extenuating circumstances like diabetes or high blood pressure. You buy and prepare your own food from the supermarket, with menus prepared by the Biometrics staff. It reduces calories gradually over a six-week span, and encourages clients to drink at least half a gallon of water a day. On top of that, you work with a trainer three days a week, for about a half-an-hour session.
The client does "super slow" weight training, meaning a 10-second "positive" and two-second "negative" on each repetition. You do one set of six to eight machines, and some abs and stretching. Short and intense, and hard to do on your own (I've tried).
Typically, a participant loses 12-15 pounds during the six weeks, and significantly changes their body composition. They look and feel good, and never feel like they're starving themselves. You eat three meals a day, plus two snacks. It's portion control, essentially, and people learn habits they can keep through life. The members who have done it here have kept the weight off, the trickiest part of any weight-loss program.
The New Year is almost here. Have a goal, and a game plan to achieve it. We'll see you at the club!
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Happy Holiday eating
Hannukah started last night, and Christmas is less than two weeks away. We have Max's 21st birthday weekend in-between, which will involve varying amounts of red meat and beer. Yes, there is over-indulgence over the Holidays - how do you handle it?
Keeping things "evened out" with a lot of exercise is the most obvious answer. Burning an extra 500-1000 calories in a workout will work off a fatty meal, and stimulate your metabolism so you're burning more calories at rest for a good portion of the day. I always feel that exercise makes you desire healthier food also, both physiologically and psychologically!
Author Cara Rosenbloom of the Washington Post offered six tips to remember in a recent article
entitled "Keep Your Holidays Happy by Letting Go Of Food Guilt.".
1. IT'S JUST FOOD, ENJOY IT: Holiday food are about family customs and traditions, so go along and enjoy it. Whether it's potato pancakes ("Latka's"), lasagna, or ham, it's how you grew up, with all the memories entailed. Just slow down and savor the look, taste, and smell of your ethnic favorites.
2. THINK LONG TERM: There's 365 days in a year, and what you eat over a couple of celebratory holidays are not going to make-or-break your diet. Try to eat as healthy as possible during the days in-between each holiday. Drink a lot of water, and accept that you are not preparing a lot of what you are eating, and, most likely, will be "falling off the wagon" a bit during this period.
3. LISTEN TO YOUR STOMACH: Get up, and walk around for a minute after one plateful of food. Are you sufficiently full, knowing dessert is coming along, too? Probably so, but if not, have another half a plate, and don't feel you need to finish everything. Make a good portion of the holiday plate healthy: yes to more salad, easy on the other side dishes.
4. RESIST THE "ARMS RACE:" This pertains to guys more than women. If you're around someone who over-eats, your competitive nature makes you over-eat as well. The same with drinking: the person around you has one beer or glass of wine, you're okay with that, too. They push the "arm's race," you feel you must answer. One way or another, everyone's worse for wear afterward!
5. MOVE ON: The day after, you realize you ate and/or drank too much. Okay, get on the treadmill or elliptical the next morning, and get everything moving. Increase your water intake even more, and listen to your stomach again. You're probably not going to be particularly hungry or desire alcohol at all. By the end of the 48 hour period, your calorie intake has probably evened out. Don't beat yourself up, skip meals, or conversely, give up on a sound nutritional program you've been following. It's just one day!
6. FOOD IS NOT A SHRINK: The Holidays can be an emotional time. There could be loved ones who are ill or passed; or you may be separated by geography or family differences from others. There are also office parties and other gatherings where you may be around people you are somewhat uncomfortable socializing with. Don't use food (or alcohol) as a crutch. Again, a workout earlier in the day can release endorphins to get you through perceived stress, or try anything else that just puts you in a good place. Usually, the anticipation of an event if worse than the actuality. What can be so hard about sitting around with family and friends, enjoying each other's company? Think of people in hospitals or military service who don't have it at all, and keep it in perspective. Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Keeping things "evened out" with a lot of exercise is the most obvious answer. Burning an extra 500-1000 calories in a workout will work off a fatty meal, and stimulate your metabolism so you're burning more calories at rest for a good portion of the day. I always feel that exercise makes you desire healthier food also, both physiologically and psychologically!
Author Cara Rosenbloom of the Washington Post offered six tips to remember in a recent article
entitled "Keep Your Holidays Happy by Letting Go Of Food Guilt.".
1. IT'S JUST FOOD, ENJOY IT: Holiday food are about family customs and traditions, so go along and enjoy it. Whether it's potato pancakes ("Latka's"), lasagna, or ham, it's how you grew up, with all the memories entailed. Just slow down and savor the look, taste, and smell of your ethnic favorites.
2. THINK LONG TERM: There's 365 days in a year, and what you eat over a couple of celebratory holidays are not going to make-or-break your diet. Try to eat as healthy as possible during the days in-between each holiday. Drink a lot of water, and accept that you are not preparing a lot of what you are eating, and, most likely, will be "falling off the wagon" a bit during this period.
3. LISTEN TO YOUR STOMACH: Get up, and walk around for a minute after one plateful of food. Are you sufficiently full, knowing dessert is coming along, too? Probably so, but if not, have another half a plate, and don't feel you need to finish everything. Make a good portion of the holiday plate healthy: yes to more salad, easy on the other side dishes.
4. RESIST THE "ARMS RACE:" This pertains to guys more than women. If you're around someone who over-eats, your competitive nature makes you over-eat as well. The same with drinking: the person around you has one beer or glass of wine, you're okay with that, too. They push the "arm's race," you feel you must answer. One way or another, everyone's worse for wear afterward!
5. MOVE ON: The day after, you realize you ate and/or drank too much. Okay, get on the treadmill or elliptical the next morning, and get everything moving. Increase your water intake even more, and listen to your stomach again. You're probably not going to be particularly hungry or desire alcohol at all. By the end of the 48 hour period, your calorie intake has probably evened out. Don't beat yourself up, skip meals, or conversely, give up on a sound nutritional program you've been following. It's just one day!
6. FOOD IS NOT A SHRINK: The Holidays can be an emotional time. There could be loved ones who are ill or passed; or you may be separated by geography or family differences from others. There are also office parties and other gatherings where you may be around people you are somewhat uncomfortable socializing with. Don't use food (or alcohol) as a crutch. Again, a workout earlier in the day can release endorphins to get you through perceived stress, or try anything else that just puts you in a good place. Usually, the anticipation of an event if worse than the actuality. What can be so hard about sitting around with family and friends, enjoying each other's company? Think of people in hospitals or military service who don't have it at all, and keep it in perspective. Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Dogs and Longevity
A Swedish research group report confirmed something that many of us innately knew: owning a dog can actually extend your life.
The report from Uppsala University studied the health records of 3.4 million Swedes over a 12- year study. The results, as reported by Michelle Cortez recently in the Bloomberg News syndicate, focused on people from 40-80 years of age. It showed that dog owners were less likely to have heart disease, or die from any cause, than non-dog owners.
Not surprisingly, the biggest difference was in people living alone. Among that group, dog owners were 11% less likely to develop heart disease and a whopping 33% less likely to die.
I can see several reasons for this. First, a dog forces you into some type of movement in taking them out several times a day, plus any planned exercise (long walks, throwing them a ball at a park) you do with your pet. Also, it is clearly a family member, with all the companionship and love entailed. Dogs are an anti-depressant, and having something to care for can make a person more aware of their own health. A senior citizen is less likely to eat badly, skip their medicines, or neglect doctor's orders if they know they have this living, loving being to take care of.
Seniors with an ill spouse definitely benefit in having something else in their lives, and dogs are a great companion to both the care-giver and the one needing it. Think of the psychological benefit for an immobile person to have a dog nestled on their lap as they read or watch television!
Laurie and I have had two dogs through our married life. The first, a strong-minded Yorkie named Pippin, lived until 17-plus years. In his youth, I did four- mile runs with him, and, later, regularly took him to a park where I would throw him a tennis ball for about a half-an-hour. He loved it, and it was sad and revealing seeing old age get the best of him. Really never sick a day in his life (other than a "nervous breakdown" on the day we moved), he had severe arthritis by the time we had to put him down, bad cataracts and very limited hearing. It was interesting to see how much this once hyper dog conserved his energy through each day in his final year or so, content to lay on the rug in a ray of sunshine through the window.
Our second dog, Phoebe, was a playful and sweet Terrier mix. She knew my weekend routine, and as soon as I was done with my hour nap in the afternoon, she would tail me around until we went on our two-mile walk. Snowstorm, 10 degrees, it didn't matter. It had to be done. I'd have my head phones on, listening to a game, and it was as relaxing for me as it was energizing for her. While I didn't need it as a workout, per se, it still was fresh air and put the mind in a good place (all things that help with longevity!)
Being a Terrier, Phoebe was an expert at catching mice. She was so good-natured, we felt she pawed at them to play more than anything else. Tragically, at age 12 and in perfect health, we believe she came in contact with a mouse that had been poisoned, and died within a day. I knew something was wrong when I took her out for her regular jaunt that we both loved, and she immediately pulled to go back inside. We brought her to the vet, and she never made it home.
While there are sad endings, we know both our dogs added an immense amount to our lives, and to our children's as well. They had something to both care for and love, and it was unconditional. Young, old, or in-between, no doubt, a dog adds to the quality, and the length, of your life!
The report from Uppsala University studied the health records of 3.4 million Swedes over a 12- year study. The results, as reported by Michelle Cortez recently in the Bloomberg News syndicate, focused on people from 40-80 years of age. It showed that dog owners were less likely to have heart disease, or die from any cause, than non-dog owners.
Not surprisingly, the biggest difference was in people living alone. Among that group, dog owners were 11% less likely to develop heart disease and a whopping 33% less likely to die.
I can see several reasons for this. First, a dog forces you into some type of movement in taking them out several times a day, plus any planned exercise (long walks, throwing them a ball at a park) you do with your pet. Also, it is clearly a family member, with all the companionship and love entailed. Dogs are an anti-depressant, and having something to care for can make a person more aware of their own health. A senior citizen is less likely to eat badly, skip their medicines, or neglect doctor's orders if they know they have this living, loving being to take care of.
Seniors with an ill spouse definitely benefit in having something else in their lives, and dogs are a great companion to both the care-giver and the one needing it. Think of the psychological benefit for an immobile person to have a dog nestled on their lap as they read or watch television!
Laurie and I have had two dogs through our married life. The first, a strong-minded Yorkie named Pippin, lived until 17-plus years. In his youth, I did four- mile runs with him, and, later, regularly took him to a park where I would throw him a tennis ball for about a half-an-hour. He loved it, and it was sad and revealing seeing old age get the best of him. Really never sick a day in his life (other than a "nervous breakdown" on the day we moved), he had severe arthritis by the time we had to put him down, bad cataracts and very limited hearing. It was interesting to see how much this once hyper dog conserved his energy through each day in his final year or so, content to lay on the rug in a ray of sunshine through the window.
Our second dog, Phoebe, was a playful and sweet Terrier mix. She knew my weekend routine, and as soon as I was done with my hour nap in the afternoon, she would tail me around until we went on our two-mile walk. Snowstorm, 10 degrees, it didn't matter. It had to be done. I'd have my head phones on, listening to a game, and it was as relaxing for me as it was energizing for her. While I didn't need it as a workout, per se, it still was fresh air and put the mind in a good place (all things that help with longevity!)
Being a Terrier, Phoebe was an expert at catching mice. She was so good-natured, we felt she pawed at them to play more than anything else. Tragically, at age 12 and in perfect health, we believe she came in contact with a mouse that had been poisoned, and died within a day. I knew something was wrong when I took her out for her regular jaunt that we both loved, and she immediately pulled to go back inside. We brought her to the vet, and she never made it home.
While there are sad endings, we know both our dogs added an immense amount to our lives, and to our children's as well. They had something to both care for and love, and it was unconditional. Young, old, or in-between, no doubt, a dog adds to the quality, and the length, of your life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
