The Fitness Guru

We all try to do the right thing. Time and again, I will ask people, “which is healthier, an apple or a Snickers bar?” There isn’t much confusion. As tempting as the Snickers bar might be, we all know that the apple is the healthier choice. The problem is that we are offered so many choices throughout the day that, if we’re not careful, we can be making bad choices without even knowing it.

Take, for example, heading off into a restaurant. There are certain words that we recognize as healthy: salad, smoothie, grilled etc. We hear those words and immediately think, “ah, that’s a healthy choice.” And we try to teach our kids to recognize the same words as being preferable food choices.

So what happens when it turns out that one of those “healthy” buzz words is actually packing more sugar than you know what to do with? All of the sudden, a healthy snack could turn into two or three days worth of dessert.

Diets that are high in sugar can lead to weight gain and various weigh-related diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. To address some guidelines, women should probably keep their sugar intake to 25 grams per day; men to 37.5 grams per day; and children to roughly 6 grams per day.

So MIchael and Elle decided to have a look at a very popular smoothie to see how much sugar is in each serving. As Elle mentions, smoothies are drinks with fruit and vegetables– sounds healthy, right? But have a look and see just how much sugar can be found in these smoothies…… and before you watch, take a little guess, knowing what you now know about recommended daily intake.

For more healthy ideas, join the Fitness Guru community on Facebook. And if you have any questions about family health and fitness, shoot me an email at Michael@fitnessgurunyc.com and Elle and I will try to answer it in an upcoming video.

Rock on!!

In a new study authored by two researchers at American University, there is a link drawn between the growing obesity epidemic and increased stress and a sense of powerlessness and insecurity. The authors, Jon D. Wisman and Kevin W. Capehart, point out that on the calorie intake side, economic progress and technological dynamism have increased incomes and lowered the price of food, prompting greater consumption. And on the calorie expenditure side, economic progress and technological dynamism have reduced energy expenditure doing physical labor, while also decreasing the need to expend calories to move about (automobiles, remote controls, etc.).

But, simultaneous with this growth, is the growth of greater societal stress. Many of the economic safety nets developed in the 1960′s have started to erode in the past 30 years, leading to a greater feeling of instability and economic unease.

And all this stress leads us to our foe, cortisol. I have written about this hormone many times. Often, I feel like cortisol is the Professor Moriarty to my Holmes. Cortisol is one of those great Darwinian developments. Thousands of years ago, when we were hunting antelope on the open plains, cortisol was a fantastic gift. In the event we were unable to find food, our bodies would release cortisol, which in turn, would trigger our bodies to hold onto fat. This fantastic chain would help prevent starvation during those times when the antelope proved just a little smarter than the hunters.

Over the centuries, we have outsmarted the antelope: first we developed bows, then guns, then Quickie Marts on every corner where we could buy blueberry muffins and Super Large Slushies 24 hours a day. Success! Hunger slowly becomes a thing of the past. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell cortisol. So in periods of high stress, our bodies STILL release the hormone, taking those muffins and converting them to fat which the body then fights to hold onto. High stress + high fat/sugar foods= obesity epidemic. And epidemic it is, with 7 out of 10 adults in the United States now overweight or obese.

So whacha gonna do? In the midst of creating that super fitness routine and rigorous eating plan that are going to help you shed the pounds, you must also develop that third part of the magic triangle: some form of stress reduction. Some people find that going for a run helps combat their stress. Others find that sitting and meditating is the best form of stress reduction. It may take some experimentation, but finding that means of stress reduction is going to be key to your successful weight loss.

Here’s a great place to start. Check out the Fitness Guru Relaxation podcast. Yes, it may drive you nuts. You will actually have to sit and breathe and relax. But, hey, it’s a starting point. And from that starting point you can start to experiment with what works for you.

Relax and rock on!!

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

Four years ago, only one state had an obesity rate over 30%. Now, in a new study just published, twelve states top 30%.

The obesity epidemic continues to be most dramatic in the South, which includes nine of the 10 states with the highest adult obesity rates. States in the Northeast and West tend to have lower rates. Mississippi maintained the highest adult obesity rate for the seventh year in a row, and Colorado has the lowest obesity rate and is the only state with a rate under 20 percent.

Here is the state-by-state ranking:

STATE-BY-STATE ADULT OBESITY RANKINGS
Note: 1 = Highest rate of adult obesity, 51 = lowest rate of adult obesity. Rankings are based on combining three years of data (2007-2009) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to “stabilize” data for comparison purposes. This methodology, recommended by the CDC, compensates for any potential anomalies or usual changes due to the specific sample in any given year in any given state. States with statistically significant (p<0.05) increases for one year are noted with an asterisk (*), states with statistically significant increases for two years in a row are noted with two asterisks (**), states with statistically significant increases for three years in a row are noted with three asterisks (***). Additional information about methodologies and confidence intervals is available in the report. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) (a calculation based on weight and height ratios) of 30 or higher are considered obese.
1. Mississippi (34.4%); 2. Alabama (32.3%); 3. West Virginia* (32.2%); 4. Tennessee (31.9%); 5. Louisiana (31.6%); 6. Kentucky** (31.5%); 7. Oklahoma** (31.4%); 8. South Carolina* (30.9%); 9. Arkansas (30.6%); 10. Michigan* (30.5%); 11. Missouri* (30.3%); 12. Texas** (30.1%); 13. Ohio (29.6%); 14. North Carolina (29.4%); 15. Indiana* (29.1%); 16. Kansas** (29.0%); 17. (tie) Georgia (28.7%); and South Dakota (28.7%); 19. Pennsylvania (28.5%); 20. Iowa (28.1%); 21. (tie) Delaware (28.0%); and North Dakota (28.0%); 23. Illinois** (27.7%); 24. Nebraska (27.6%); 25. Wisconsin (27.4%); 26. Maryland (27.1%); 27. Maine** (26.5%); 28. Washington (26.4%); 29. Florida** (26.1%); 30. (tie) Alaska (25.9%); and Virginia (25.9%); 32. Idaho (25.7%); 33. (tie) New Hampshire (25.6%); and New Mexico (25.6%); 35. (tie) Arizona (25.4%); Oregon (25.4%); and Wyoming (25.4%); 38. Minnesota (25.3%); 39. Nevada (25.0%); 40. California (24.8%); 41. New York (24.7%); 42. Rhode Island** (24.3%); 43. New Jersey (24.1%); 44. Montana (23.8%); 45. Vermont** (23.5%); 46. Utah (23.4%); 47. Hawaii (23.1%); 48. Massachusetts** (22.3%); 49. Connecticut (21.8%); 50. District of Columbia (21.7%); 51. Colorado* (19.8%).

To read more about the study, click HERE

There was an article in New York Magazine a couple of years ago title “Does Exercise Really Make Us Thinner?” The article got under my skin– enough so that a couple of years later, I still use it as an example of ineffective, linear thinking. The premise of the article was that, despite what many might think, exercise can’t help us lose weight. It quotes several studies, including ones where people training for marathons wouldn’t have changes in body composition, despite several months of training. Exercise, the article states, increases our apetites, and therefore we consume more calories and don’t lose weight.

Idiots. (article continued below)

The first problem in developing a moronic argument like this is that it is going to be read by any number of heavy, sedentary people who are looking to exercise to help them lose weight and feel healthier. They read this article and throw in the towel because exercise is no longer worth it. The second, and far more intricate problem, is that the thesis examines only half the battle of the bulge.

Yes, exercise does increase the appetite. Increased fuel burn is going to increase the demand for fuel. All that fuel is summed up in that almighty word: calorie.

No matter how you slice it, weight loss can summed up by taking in fewer calories than you’re expending. With that deficit, the body has to burn up fuel stores, and that is primarily held as fat. Flip side: if you consume more calories than you expend, you pack on that extra fuel, again, usually as fat.

Now when we exercise, we burn extra calories. Exercise is necessary in this day and age, not only to keep our hearts, lungs and minds in tip top shape, but because, aside from actively seeking time to be active, we are, for the most part, completely inactive– trapped at the desk, driving from one point to another, crashed out on a sofa at the end of a long day.

Exercise will increase the appetite. But how we serve that appetite is the key point. Where are we finding those extra calories? If you eat 100 calories of broccoli and 100 calories of a Twinkie, your body is going to burn calories to breakdown that food. But your body is going to burn more calories burning 100 calories of broccoli than it will burning 100 calories of Twinkie– or any processed food, for that matter. On top of that, any of the sugar from the Twinkie NOT used immediately by the body will be stored….as fat.

So when you stumble home from the Spin class and feel like you should give yourself a little treat– a cookie, some Ben and Jerry’s, some chocolate– because of how hard you worked, remember the greater goal. That little treat may be a bigger obstacle than you think.

Whole foods are not just the healthy choice because of all the nutritional benefits, but because, in the grander scheme of turning your body into a calorie burning SUPER MACHINE, they are adding even more fire power.

If you have any questions regarding calories and healthy eating, shoot me an email at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com.

Rock on!!!

This 40 second video is one of the most unnerving I’ve seen a long time. It shows the the explosion in adult obesity in the United States over the last 25 years. If ever there was a call to arms……

There’s a great article in the LA Times today that takes a look at the slew of TV reality shows that deal with weight loss. Following on the heels of the juggernaut, The Biggest Loser, come a group of shows that also seem to want to ride the wave of America’s obsession with weight: I Used To Be Fat, Heavy, Losing It With Jillian, among others (and, undoubtibly, countless others in development).

I have been critical of these shows in the past. I think it is difficult to present an idea of “reality” when you are taking contestants, locking them away for a certain period of time and asking them to focus all their time and energy on weight loss. The results in some instances have been dangerous, with contestants on The Biggest Loser admitting to self-starvation and dehydration in an effort to drop more pounds. Why shouldn’t they take it to an extreme? They are being offered a great deal of money to lose weight. But involving overweight people in such extreme programs can have incredibly negative effects on their health, from heart problems to kidney and electrolyte imbalances– and that’s just the top of the list.

At the same time, the American population is in a state of crisis with 7 out of 10 adults facing weight-related issues. And the situation doesn’t seem to be resolving itself all that quickly. In many cases, people can find inspiration in these shows and use them as a motivational tool to help get them off the couch and into some form of healthy activity, from exercise to diet change.

So that brings us to our poll for the day:

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A couple of years ago, a compound in red wine, Resveratrol, was praised as being anti-aging. Much of the press was unsubstantiated for this compound found in the skin of red grapes. Of course, that didn’t stop many supplement companies from branding the compound and selling it on late night infomercials. Go figure……

But now a study has come out from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio and which appeared in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, showing that Resveratrol may have anti-obesity benefits. It seems that the big R stimulates a hormone that, in turn, has a number of beneficial effects on obesity-related medical complications, including diabetes.

So does that mean you should go down a couple of cases of red wine. No. I’m not suggesting that and the jury is still out regarding the amounts of consumption necessary for the effects. However, it is excellent news as science moves forward in combating obesity and the complications that go with it.

According to a report published on September 23rd, the US of A is the number one fattest country among the 33 nations with advanced economies. Coming in second and third? Mexico and Chile. We’re also number one in fastest obesity growth weights (hey, at least when we swing for the fences, we are successful).

What does this mean? Two thirds of our adult population are overweight or obese, as opposed to Japan, South Korea and Switzerland where fewer then one in ten adults is obese. 72 MILLION American adults are obese. In a 2009 government report about expenditures in 2008, the toll put on the medical profession by weight-related illness was $147 Billion dollars (that’s Billion with a B).

Among the suggestions to combat this epidemic: lifestyle counseling, health-promotion campaigns, compulsory food labeling and cooperation between industry and government in the regulation of food advertising to kids. But when the food industry has billions of dollars at stake and millions and millions of dollars to continue to throw at marketing, what are the chances anything is going to happen to help reverse the course?

It is mind bending.

I believe it all starts in the homes and then the schools and the workplace. Education is key. If you feel that your community or your business could benefit from a little healthy dose of lifestyle education, let me know. Let’s get this monstrous pendulum swinging in the other direction.

Hit me with an email. Make the subject HELP! Let’s mobilize…….

michael@fitnessgurunyc.com

Oh! And a little bit of Morgan….

Rock on!!

Two big studies came out last week, one from the good folks at Yale and the other from equally as noble folks at Columbia, in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Both studies took a look at the importance of infancy on obesity in adults. As I have mentioned, and as I am sure you know, the obesity epidemic continues to climb, with the new numbers released last week showing that over 30% of the residents in nine states are obesity– much higher figures than just ten years ago. Doctors, scientists and fitness gurus are all trying to figure out what can be done to stem the tide of unhealthy weight gain.

According to the Yale University study, an individual’s weight is set in the brain before birth. In other words, our size is being wired into our brains in utero. For many people, portions of the brain that would trigger satiety are just not firing properly, causing those individuals to eat more.

“It appears that this base wiring of the brain is a determinant of one’s vulnerability to develop obesity,” said Tamas Horvath, chair and professor of comparative medicine and professor of neurobiology and obstetrics & gynecology at Yale School of Medicine, who is also co-director of the Yale Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism. “These observations add to the argument that it is less about personal will that makes a difference in becoming obese, and, it is more related to the connections that emerge in our brain during development.”

Horvath also mentions that this cerebral wiring leads to other problems. “Those who are vulnerable to diet-induced obesity also develop a brain inflammation, while those who are resistant, do not,” he said. “This emerging inflammatory response in the brain may also explain why those who once developed obesity have a harder time losing weight.”

Meanwhile, over at Columbia, researchers studying births over a period of 14 years (and over a half a million births) found that babies who were heavier at birth were much more likely to become obese adults. The researchers worked with the premise that a healthy weight increase while pregnant was about 18-22 pounds. As the expectant mothers would put on more weight, so too grew the chances that the baby would be large, with the likelihood one and a half times with a gain of 40 pounds and more than doubled with a gain of 52 pounds.

“These are the most important nine months of life from the standpoint of development,” said Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston. “Our cells, tissues, even brain structures are being formed and fine-tuned so that having too high blood sugar and other abnormal metabolic influences can affect that infant not just at the moment but potentially throughout life.

“For an adult to gain an extra 10 pounds and then maybe lose it doesn’t cause permanent changes in that individual’s biology,” Ludwig said. “But, for a fetus to gain too much weight during key [moments] may permanently alter the brain circuits that affect appetite and metabolism, fat tissues or other parts of the body that have a permanent role in body weight regulation.”

Didja know?? America’s pet population is growing– not in number but in size. I’ve mentioned that 67% of the US adult population is now overweight or obese and the numbers are equally as frightening for the child and adolescent populations. Now according to the American Journal of Veterinary Research, one out of three dogs and cats in America are now obese or overweight. One reason is that food manufacturers load food with fat to make it more appealing. But also sedentary owners lead to sedentary pets. So cut back on the amount of food you feed the little darling and take Fido for a run–for both of you!

(Cats? I don’t know about cats. You can try a leash and a quick run but….well……recipe for disaster….)