Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Let’s Go Back To The Beginning

With a few new members and a few old members making their re-commitment to losing their weight, I thought it might be time to get back to the beginning… Today we’re going to talk about fitness for beginners!  Now I really that there are many of you that are turning into little skinny Minny’s, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from some of the best fitness tips for beginners

This is aimed to the person who is mentally preparing themselves to get in shape. The individual who suddenly has realized after many years that they simply cannot continue being overweight, tired and listless with muscles that resemble a bowl of Jell-O (just like me!).  You want to begin eating right and exercising, but you have absolutely no idea where to begin. You’re sort of scared. It is possible that you have never set foot in a health club and would almost rather not pursue this endeavor because it just seems so daunting. But, you know you must! We have already talked about the Couch to 5K run, but I know there are some of you looking for more. 

It is, to me at least, very courageous for anyone to want to start to get healthier.  Although some of us are at different points, I know there are more than a few of you who haven’t yet begun.  I know this because I can see you coming to the blog every day but not commenting So, here are 10 tips for the beginners who WANT to start but just don’t know where to do so:

1. DON’T WORRY ABOUT FEAR - Understand that it’s OK to feel somewhat unsure of yourself prior to starting an exercise and nutrition program. The psychological aspect is the first thing to accept. There will be a lot to learn concerning weight training, cardiovascular exercise and nutrition. However, recognize that as you begin the process, you will continually learn, get more comfortable and, most importantly, make progress.

2. DECIDE - You’ll need to write down and DECIDE what it is you want to accomplish.

For example, you may decide you want to lose 30 pounds of body fat and gain two to three pounds of muscle. Maybe you’ll decide you want to be able to walk five miles without losing your breath, or possibly fit into that size 8 dress or 31” inch waist pants. Write it down and make it quantifiable. Just saying “I want to get in shape and lose weight” is not quantifiable. There’s no target.

3. GET A CHECKUP - Having a physical is a wise decision, because it will help assure you’ll attain the most benefits with the least amount of risks. If you smoke, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or are overweight, it’s doubly important. Remember, this is about starting right.

4. STRUCTURE - You will need guidance. That is where we come in.  Our site is marvelous for beginners. When registering, you are will automatically on our email list for occasional newsletters and reminders about weight in day, plus you get the benefit of learning about things you normally wouldn’t hear if you were on a traditional website… We’ll talk about it all, and give you truthful answers to your questions.  We talk about exercise, fitness, different weight loss plans, and then help to motivate you as you go along your own program! 

5. GET REAL - Take a close look at your schedule and be realistic concerning how many days and how much time you can realistically devote to exercise. This is going to be long-term, so it has to be based on reality.

Too many people start working out every day and think that’s the best approach. Wrong! Maybe you only have two to three days to devote to exercise and only 45 minutes for each session. It’s the combination of efficient nutrition and exercise that will yield the greatest benefit, not simply excessive exercise. That’s a sure way to experience burn out.

6. EDUCATE YOURSELF - You’ll need to develop an understanding of concepts such as repetitions, sets, cardio, etc. Again, we can help. If there is something you want to know about we’ll try to figure it out, and if we can’t then we’ll let you know.  For instance - Amy - I have LOOKED everywhere for a reason on why vitamins have side effects such as the ones you described, but I have yet to find anything other than you may experience side effects such as nausea for a few days but then they will go away.  Chances are, you are allergic to something in a multi-vitamin that you aren’t aware of.  But see - I tried

7. EAT - Begin to get an understanding of how food affects the body. I’m not asking you to become a nutrition guru. Simply try to understand, for example, what happens to your body when you have a big bowl of pasta compared to a smaller amount of pasta combined with chicken and a small Caesar salad.  Become familiar with the affect elevated blood sugar has on storing fat.  Start looking at portion sizes and what you are actually putting into your body.  It’s reality, and in real life when you are losing weight you actually have to eat.

8. MOVE - No, not geographically. Start to work out! Start to move. Your weight training won’t take a lot of time as a beginner, nor will your cardiovascular exercise. You’ll focus on form, technique, precision and breathing correctly during your workout.  But you DO have to get moving to lose weight.

9. BEWARE OF MAGIC POTIONS - Don’t get hooked into supplements that can magically reduce body fat or infomercials that sell ineffective products to get your stomach flat. Remember, these companies are just trying to make a buck, and most of them don’t provide all the information you require to make a wise decision. They prey on emotion and impulse buying. Stay far away.

10. COST EVALUATION - It’s important to get the most effective nutrition and workout plan for your needs. In business, it’s called cost versus benefit, but I like to call it “what the heck do I get for my money?” This includes any weight loss plans you may join, or any gyms you join.  Make sure you are fully committed to anything to do before you spend your money, and make sure it is worth it.  Weight loss doesn’t have to cost anything for people that have the will power, education, and determination to do it themselves.  For those of us that need something like Weight Watchers, make sure it is affordable and that you use it!! 

I hope this helps all of the beginners or the older members who are recommitting themselves to lose weight.  It doesn’t take more than just getting on the treadmill or trading that pizza for a turkey pita to make your commitment to losing weight!!!  So, the time is now of course to get out there and do it! 

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Truth About Chinese Food

Big Shocker - Chinese food is unhealthy for you!

A lot of you are now saying, “um, duh!” because you may have already known this.. But did you know HOW unhealthy it is for you? 

According to a study last year, Chinese restaurants have unacceptable levels of fat and sodium in their food.  And we’re not talking just a “little” unacceptable either!  There is no question that as Americans (or Canadians here in some cases) have taken a liking towards sweet, salty sauces and dishes that include many of their deep fried meats such as General Tso’s chicken and sweet and sour pork.  When served with fried rice you are basically ordering a heart attack right then and there.  Chinese food also is made with a ton of oil and thick soy sauce which although gives it a great flavor, just clogs up the arteries each and every time you put a forkful in your mouth. 

That doesn’t mean that you can stick to the stir-fry veggies as some people assume you can.  They are just as bad… they still contain more oil and fat then if you were to cook it at home.  Usually, if cooked at home you may use around 2 tablespoons of oil, but in a restaurant where they are trying to cook it faster and with more flavor, they can use as many as 15 tablespoons of oil! Sure, they pour “most” of the oil off, but not enough to stop it from containing at least 10 tablespoons of full fledged oil.  We’re not talking extra-virgin olive oil either.  We’re talking heart-attack producing vegetable oil. 

Even some of the dry foods that don’t look they contain any oil at all have been deep fried to speed up the process of cooking.  Well, that explains why when I order a boneless sparerib combination plate it is ready in just 5 minutes!  What is more interesting than the fact that Chinese food is unhealthy (which c’mon be honest… you sort of knew already) is that many Chinese restaurants have two types of foods - one that caters to Americans which is full of taste and fat and oil, and then one for Chinese Americans which is much lower fat, usually steamed rather than fried, and much healthier.  Chinese-Americans are already very conscious how how fatty and bad for you that food is, so they simple order food from “the Chinese menu” which most Americans never see! 

So, the next time you head to a Chinese restaurant, you need to ask them to make it with little to no oil, steam it instead of fry it, and basically ask for the low-fat version.  Most, if not all, will do it for you because they already cook it that way, you just have to ask for it!

Oh wait - don’t even get me started on the sodium content.  High blood pressure look out!  Most dishes come with at least 400mg of sodium if not more.

Just to give you an idea - here are some of the popular Chinese foods and their calorie and fat count, as well as some healthier options:

Fried Wontons (usually a bowl of 6 to 10 come in each appetizer) - 110 calories per wonton, 8g fat, 6.5 carbs
Fried Dim Sum - 177 per serving, 8.5 grams of fat (steamed dim sum has only 100 calories per serving!)
Egg roll - 200 calories, 2 g saturated fat (spring roll has only 100)
Stir-fried greens (sounds healthy right??) - A Whopping 900 calories!!!
General Tso’s - 1300 calories, 22g of fat
Orange Beef - 1500 calories - 28g of fat
Beef with broccoli (another seemingly healthy choice) - 900 calories, 18g of fat
Lo Mein - 1,100 calories
Chow Mein - 1300 calories
Fried Rich - 1500 calories, 25g of fat

As you can see - not quite what you expected!  If I were to get my General Tso’s chicken combo with fried rice and egg roll and at the entire thing (which totally can be done!), I would be eating 3000 calories and about 55 grams of fat - FOR ONE MEAL!

Um, yeah, I think I’ll be skipping Chinese dinners from now on, or making them at home which is a MUCH healthier option!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Couch to 5K Run

The 5K run… something that marathoner’s would scoff at, yet something that I know I can’t do, and I know a lot of us here can’t do it either.  It is as simple as running 3 miles and yet, it is something that I haven’t done for many many years.  After my treadmill post last week there were a few people who mentioned that they may be interested or had already started the Couch to 5K Run.  It is a program that basically gets your ass off the couch and puts you into training so that in as little as 2 months you can run a 5K. 

I started hunting around and what I found is that there are a lot of different versions of the Couch to 5K run.  One in particular is one that I think a lot of people use.  By starting just 20 to 30 minutes 3 times a week, it gives you 2 months to get up to running 3 miles.  It sounds great - for some people - but not necessarily for me.  It has you alternating jogging for 60 seconds, and walking for 90 seconds for up to 20 minutes the first week.  That would be great, if I wasn’t 85 pounds overweight without any ability to jog for even one session of 60 seconds, never mind, off and on for 20 minutes! Wait… let me do my math here - 60 seconds of jogging, 90 seconds of walking, 20 minutes… that equals… holy crap, let me get a calculator here… it equals 8 minutes of jogging - right?  Anyhow - there is no way in hell my tub of lard body can jog for 8 minutes, I don’t care how short of a time it is.  BUT I know some of you CAN do it!  I think for the people here that have had some experience with running and have lost enough weight so that they don’t break their knees while they are starting out, this is a fabulous way to not only have a goal that you can get to, but it might actually be fun!  I know that for me, having a schedule for exercising is important.  I like to know what days I’m exercising so that I can keep track and not miss any.  If I just woke up and then tried to decide if I was going to walk on my treadmill, it would SO never happen!

But again, that particular routine didn’t work for me, so I think I found another for those of us who are more than a little overweight, and more than a lot out of shape I found a Couch to 5K program that exists in both 4 and 7 month increments! I know what you are thinking, 7 months to run 3 miles??  Well that is what happens to those of us that are very overweight and have barely ever run in their life.  Although I like to think I can do the 4 month program, I think I’m going to start with the 7 month program, just to give my knees and joints time to work up to actual running.  Both programs are great if you have weight to lose because they start you off slowly.  In the first month of the 4 month program you do mostly walking with 3 minutes of jogging put into the 2nd week, and 6 minutes put into the 3rd and 4th week.  It’s only 3 times a week and totally doable for most people, and it gives you the ability to do some strength training or other exercise activity on the other 2 to 3 days.  By the 4th month you are doing all running 3 times a week till you get to the point that you can run 3 miles without a problem at all. 

The 7 month program allows you to just start by walking 3 times a week for the first month at either 15 or 20 minutes of walking depending on the week.  Yeah, now we’re talking!  I have to get back into slowly, lol.  Month 2 you build up into a few minutes of jogging and each month adds on a little more jogging till you are in month 7 when you are running for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.  Ah, that sounds like heaven for someone like me!  Sure, it is slow - but that is the point!  I’ve already admitted I don’t love the treadmill, so it doesn’t make my entire fitness routine revolve around walking or running, but at the same time I can slowly build up my endurance.  This particular program starts on Tuesday - so guess what I’m doing today??

Sure thing - today I start my Couch to 5K Program!  I sure hope that some of you are motivated to do this with me.  You don’t have to have a treadmill either - I’m almost positive you all have a sidewalk outside of your house So, let’s do this! Who’s with me??

Here are the links for each program so you can look at each and decide which one you want to try.  I printed my hard copy out and it is now hanging right on my refrigerator so that all I see when I wake up is the day that I’m walking.  I suggest you get off your couch and join me.  Go, print a copy out for yourself, and let’s get moving!

2 Month Couch to 5K Program
4 Month Couch to 5K Program
7 Month Couch to 5K Program