The Fitness Guru

In Santa Clara County, California, there is a new proposal to remove all toys from fast food meals that are deemed unhealthy. Believing that the toys help to lure children to meals that are high in calories, fat and/or sodium, the County Supervisor Ken Yeager wants the toys removed.

“People ask why I want to take toys out of the hands of children,” said Yeager, who is president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “But we now know that 70% of the kids that are overweight or obese will be overweight or obese as adults. Why would we want to burden anybody with a lifetime of chronic illness?”

But the California Restaurant Association, which is against the ban, has run a series of newspaper ads, including one with a little girl with her hands cuffed behind her back as she clutches a stuffed bear. If County Supervisor Yeager “wants to take away the toys that are making kids fat, take away Xboxes, take away PlayStations, take away flat-screen TVs,” said Daniel Conway, spokesman for the industry group.

So what do you think?

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And now……the Top 10 Lamest Happy Meals….

What works to burn fat and build muscle? Cardio cardio cardio? Light weights and heavy repetitions? Heavy weights and light repetitions?

The list goes on and on and on……

I was out to dinner on Saturday night and the table next to me was quite boisterous. They were talking about everything, from apartment searches to Tiger Woods to the state of health care. And in an hour and a half, I was amazed that they didn’t discuss fitness at all. My theory is that, if you eavesdrop on any restaurant conversation in New York, at some point, and relatively quickly, the talk turns to fitness. And these two couples hadn’t mentioned it at all. They must have been from out of town.

Then it started…..

Back and forth, back and forth they went. “This is the best exercise.” “No, this is the best exercise.” “Well, this will burn fat and build muscle.” “Ha! Well not as good as this does!!!”

“What’s the BEST exercise?” people ask me. The one that you are going to do regularly, I always respond. But, in terms of firing up the metabolism, nothing gets the fires going like some weight work.

Ok, you say, then what kind of weight work?

Like anything exercise oriented, you have to be present and aware of what you are doing and how you are doing it: mindfulness in exercise. I recommend that you use heavier weights for fewer repetitions. Find a weight with which you can complete from 8 to 10 repetitions. That last rep should be tough to pull off……tough but not impossible. And your focus should be on form every second of the exercise.

Now some of you might fear heavier weight and fewer reps. You’ve heard that you will bulk up using that method. Bulking up takes a great deal of focus, hours of work and extreme calorie consumption. If you are working out three or four hours a week, you won’t bulk up from heavier weights.

And, according to a study in 2002, your energy expenditure and metabolic boost will be far greater from working with the heavier wieghts than the lighter weights.

Metabolic boost? That’s right: read FAT BURN!

Not sure what to do? Check out Wini Linguvic’s Lean, Long & Strong or The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises. And, if you’re looking for some space saving home equipment, check out Stamina Adjustable Dumbbell. They are dumbbells that are adjustable from 5 to 25 pounds in 2.5 pound increments. I have a pair under my bed for those moments late at night when I am overwhelmed with a desire to do delt raises.

So the next time you wander into the gym or a body sculpting class or just pull out the dumbbells to work at home, try increasing the weight load. You’re going to love the results.

Rock on!

Almost a year ago, I wrote about KFC’s hopeless attempt to go “healthy“: they were offering, via Oprah, the opportunity to download a coupon for a free grilled chicken meal. The plan went awry because they didn’t anticipate the response would be so great…..and they ran out of grilled chicken. I guess they figured no one watched Oprah.

Well, now it seems they are even less concerned about the health factor. They are releasing the brand new Double Down: a bacon and cheese sandwich. What’s wrong with that, you ask? Instead of bread they are using fried chicken (see picture right). When I first saw it, I thought it was a joke or something off of the web site This Is Why You’re Fat.

KFC’s spokespeople say that the sandwich was developed in response to young men wanting more chicken in their sandwiches. And sodium and saturated fat too, I guess, as the new Double Down has 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium (FYI- Federal guidelines suggest 2300 mg of sodium and 65 grams of fat daily. Quick math: the DD has half your daily fat intake and 60% of the sodium). For those health conscious Double Down aficionados, the sandwich also comes in “grilled” with 460 calories, 23 grams of fat and 1,430 milligrams of sodium– slightly less fat but even more sodium.

If you’re going to eat eat it, go with the grilled. But hurry– supplies won’t last.

Hey gang!

New, quick podcast on muscle soreness and exercise…….a couple o’ tips, a word to the wise……give a listen…..

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

A group of doctors from the Harvard Medical School released a study in the upcoming issue of the The Journal of the American Medical Association. By studying a group of 34,000 women over 15 years, they established that, in order to maintain body weight, these women had to participate in “moderate intensity” exercise for 60 minutes every day. But, par for the course on these studies, that tells a little less than half the story. And, no doubt, some of you are going to hear “60 minutes of exercise EVERY day just to MAINTAIN?!?!” and dissolve into a pool of tears. Not necessary. Don’t do it. Seriously……

Let me explain…..

The doctors used a system of tracking work load known as METs (not the baseball team from Queens, this stands for “Metabolic Energy Equivalent Tasks). Just as “calorie” is the term for “raising the temperature of water 1 liter of water 1 degree celsius”, 1 MET is the amount of energy expended and caloric requirment at rest.  The doctors found that, over the course of their 15 year study, women who were active 21.5 MET hours per week were the ones who didn’t gain weight. Some quick division and that comes out to 3 MET/hours  per day. 3 METs is the equivalent of moderate intensity exercise.

Here is where people start freaking out…….

That doesn’t mean that you go into the gym and crush yourself for an hour seven days a week. Here is a list of exercises that equal 2.5-3 MET/hours of activity:

• Walking at an average pace (2-2.5 mi/hr)

• Dancing (slow)

• Golf, using power cart

• Bowling

• Fishing

• Walking at a brisk pace (1 mi every 20 min)

• Weight lifting, water aerobics

• Golf, not carrying clubs

• Leisurely canoeing or kayaking

Nowhere on the list does it “hog tie yourself to an elliptical machine for an hour of grinding work.” Quite the opposite: if you look at the list, all the exercises are relatively low-key BUT the suggestion is that you have to go out and get some degree of activity every day.

So what should you do?

I always recommend to my clients that they start to track their daily activity levels using a Pedometer. They are wonderful, cheap tools that you use to track the number of steps you take in any given day. The studies of yesteryear have told us that we need to take 12,000 steps per day in order to maintain our weight. 12,000. Does that seem like a lot? In this day and age of internet and cell phones, we are far less likely to get up and go as much as we think we do. So my advice: get the Pedometer  and start tracking how much you walk every day. Get that number up to 12,000. That will take care of you 3 MET/hours. Then when you go to the gym, it is not simply to maintain, but to progress. Pretty good deal, right? Thanks, Harvard.

I have also included this training video from the Harvard Medical School. It was originally titled “Moderate Intensity Exercise.” Honestly, I think you should write your own titles….. lemme know……

The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Center for Disease Control, just release their numbers on the health behavior of adults from 2005 thru 2007. Here are some of the high points:

• 60% of adults are alcohol drinkers, while 25% are lifetime abstainers. 14% are former drinkers. Of all adults, one in five had 5 or more drinks in one day over the past year.
• 20% of adults are smokers and 21% are former smokers. Almost 60% have never tried a cigarette.
• Among all adults, 16% smoked daily and 4% smoked less than daily.
• Approximately 3 in 10 current smokers (31.8%) started smoking
  before the age of 16 years and about 1 in 5 current smokers (17.1%)
  started smoking at age 21 years or over.
• Overall, nearly 6 in 10 adults (60.4%) were overweight (including
  obese)
• About 25.4% of adults were obese, 35% were overweight but not obese,
  37.7% were in the healthy weight range, and 1.9% of adults were underweight
• Overall, about 6 in 10 adults (63.5%) usually slept 7 to 8 hours in
  a 24-hour period. Almost 3 in 10 adults (28.0%) averaged 6 hours of sleep or less in a 24-hour period—20.3% of adults slept 6 hours and 7.7% slept less
  than 6 hours.
• Overall, 60.3% of adults engaged in at least some leisure-time physical
  activity, with 30.7% engaging in activity sufficient in frequency and
  duration to be classified as ‘‘regular’’
• Almost 4 in 10 adults (39.7%) engaged in no leisure-time physical activity

Surprises?

Personally, I was shocked so many people are getting enough sleep. I’m not sure where the CDC is getting their numbers but they can’t be hanging out in New York. And though I wasn’t surprised by the percentage of overweight adults in the population, I was surprised by the declaration that 40% of adults engaged in NO leisure-time physical activity. Hmmmmm……..

What surprised you? Or did it all seem right on the money?

It’s enough to make Gidget, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, roll over in her grave (RIP July 21, 2009). Desperate to both cash in on the Resolution Weight Loss Fervor, and fearful that the Fervor may cut into their market share for the first six weeks of the year, Taco Bell has inflicted Christine, the TB Weight Loss Heroine, on an otherwise unsuspecting public. According to the company, Christine, 27 years old, lost 54 pounds by eating at Taco Bell 5-8 times per week, selecting items off their Fresca menu which replaces certain high calorie ingredients with lower calorie ones. But fear not– it’s still the same burrito.

Taco Bell is quick to say that this is not intended as a weight loss program, though they use the word “diet” repeatedly.

My opinion: it reminds me of my friend Cathy who went on the frozen yogurt diet our sophomore year of college. SHe lost a lot of weight by only eating frozen yogurt. Weight loss? Yes. Because she is altering her caloric intake. Healthy? No.If you cut your caloric intake you will lose weight– in the short run. But the only healthy means of weight loss is creating a life style that can carry you for…..well, a lifetime. The people who repeatedly go to Taco Bell will start to move away from the Fresca menu because the other options are so readily available, though I am sure that hasn’t occurred to the marketing department at Taco Bell. They are only interested in a healthy America.

It also reminds me of the old “parrot” skit from Monty Python. Guy walks in with a dead parrot, store owner denies it’s dead. You can say the fast food is healthier but that still don’t make it healthy.

Chandra writes:

“Dear Fitness Guru- Is this new hot gift item the “FitBit” actually worthwhile or just another gimmick?”

Chandra, that is very good question. I looked into the FitBit. Here’s the scoop from the web site: “The Fitbit accurately tracks your calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and sleep quality. The Fitbit contains a 3D motion sensor like the one found in the Nintendo Wii. The Fitbit tracks your motion in three dimensions and converts this into useful information about your daily activities.” And all for the low, low price of $99. Does it do all those things? Dunno. I haven’t tried it.

But, Chandra, it reminds me of a story.

Years and years ago, when I was but a youngster, I was in an acting class taught by a wise and Yoda-like figure, Fred. My friend Robert, a successful actor, was turning his sights on writing. He came in one day very excited and announced that he had just bought the most fantastic screenwriting software ever. It kept track of the characters and created the format of the screenplay all with just a few clicks of the mouse. Extraordinary and it only cost him $150. Fred asked “does it come with the story for you?” Robert replied, “well, no.” “Then it does me no good” said Fred.

Everybody wants a FitBit. I want a FitBit. I want something that is going to help me get healthy and stay fit and reach my goals. But, in the end, for most people, that FitBit is $99 that is going straight into the back corner of the sock drawer.

January is the Crazy Month. It’s the month when we suddenly turn our attention to ourselves, create our Resolution and re-invent ourselves. Health clubs go nuts because thousands and thousands of people come pouring through the doors; sign a contract to deduct a sum of money from their checking accounts for the next two years; exercise like fiends for four to six weeks; and then go right back to the same old, same old that they were doing before the big Resolution hit.

We live in a time and a society where everyone wants to believe there is a FitBit for everything: the invesment banker who can bring results that are mathematically impossible; the million dollar mortgage when there is little to income; the four week weight loss plan where you don’t really have to do anything but drink a couple of shakes and watch the fat drip off. And all of it is hype. The FitBit might do those things, but it is not going to inspire you to get more sleep, drink more water, eat less processed foods and exercise more often. You have to make those decisions for yourself. There are no easy answers or effortless results. None.

Sorry to be such a bummer. But if you think that I am somewhat cynical, understand that the attitude comes from two and half decades watching people throw their money at this problem only to become discouraged at the lack of results. They blame themselves rather then blame the strategy and decide that they are not worthy of the results that they crave. And they go right back to the habits that got them into trouble to begin with.

But you still want to invest in your well being and that is noble. So where should you put your money so that it will be well spent? Here is my list of Top 5 Must-Haves:

1. A heart monitor. I have discussed the merits of this brilliant tool over and over again. Suffice it to say, if you want results, it is first on the list.

2. A jump rope. That’s pretty simple. It’s a piece of rope. Take it with you anywhere and you have all the cardio you need.

3. Sneakers. Something nice that supports your foot and ankle (though, with all this barefoot running talk that’s circulating these days, I have to admit I’m rethinking this one).

4. Pedometer. Try to achieve 12,000 steps per day in order to maintain a healthy weight. You’ll be surprised by how little you walk.

5. A Journal. If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist. You can keep track of what you are eating; when you are eating; when you are excising and for how long; how you feel before and after exercise; and what results you feel you are seeing from the work.

There are other things that I would add to the list. But that is your essential package.

So as you venture forth into the next decade, beware the person or company that is selling you results in a bottle. You probably end up with a rash and an empty wallet.

Remember: the most important thing is the Resolve to actually begin to change your life and then taking the appropriate steps to do so.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

I attended a wake a couple of weeks ago for my friend Christine’s dad, Frank. Frank was a great man (and a fun golf buddy) and there was tremendous love in the room. I spoke for a while with Christine’s husband, Stuart. He is a giant bear of a man, 6’8″ and 300 pounds. He makes me feel small– no easy feat. Stu and I don’t see eye to eye politically all that often, but what I love about Stu is that, even when he disagrees with you, it is clear he disagrees with your opinion but still has great respect for you.

We got involved in a conversation about the Great Health Care Debate. Now, many people have many different views on how health care should be tackled in this country, but Stu boiled it down to this: “The big problem with this country,” he said, “is that there is no sense of personal responsibility.” That thought stuck with me for days, and not just because Stu and I were agreeing.

I’ve written about Stu and Christine before. A couple of years ago, they lost a combined 120 pounds, not by fasting or protein shakes or gimmicks, but by cutting out all the extra processed foods in their home. They realized that, in the long run, the processed foods and the extra weight that they were carrying were going to make them sick. They took action, took a giant garbage bag to their pantry and lost the weight. They took responsibility.

This week I have been faced with numerous situations of individuals not taking responsiblity. The specifics are unimportant. The common denominator is that people feel that work should be done for them. Want to lose weight? The trainer will do that. Want to feel better? The doctor will do that. Work sucks? Boss’s fault. Co-worker’s fault. Client’s fault. Anybody’s fault but mine.

Then a friend posted this video. Again, regardless of your political stance on the topic, the speech is about personal responsibility and serving the greater good.

This is a tough time for everyone. It’s easy to pass the buck. It is easy to let anger and blaim fester. But when you sense that anger and that blaim, take a step back. Take responsibility for your small piece of the pie. Decide how you can make the situation better. We all benefit.

Didja hear the one about about Filippa Hamilton? Neither had I until my friend, Dana, at FitCeleb pointed out the photo-driven controversy on Twitter.

Below are three photos of the model. One is presumably as she looks as a size 4 model. One could argue that the photo has been touched up and photoshopped. But the other two photos are from a recent Ralph Lauren ad campaign. Please note: HER HEAD IS BIGGER THAN HER HIPS!!!

Now, Filippa is coming forward to say that her contract with the company, which she has had for a long time, is not being renewed because she was overweight and couldn’t fit into the clothes anymore. Ralph Lauren then ran the altered photos in ad campaigns.

I’m not sure where to begin. As the father of two girls, ages seven and twelve, the idea that a major corporation is using these doctored photographs to promote a vision of “beauty” is disgusting and beyond the point of any sort of defense. As a fitness professional who works with people on weight related issues on a daily basis , it galls me professionally. Forget that we have a nation of adiolescents (and adults) who will watch with fascination as Tyra Banks and her band of two dimensional cronies decide a standard of beauty. When more than two out of every three adults in this country has a weight problem, artificially altering the human figure to unnatural ends creates an ideal that most will find depressingly out of their reach. Consciously or otherwise, it causes many to throw in the towel and an untold number of others to go about weight loss in drastically unhealthy ways.

Disgusted? Offended? Furious? That doesn’t even begin to capture my feelings toward a company that is trying to sell “Americana.”

For those of you who missed the video a few days ago, here it is again, maybe with a little more anger than the fascination that originally accompanied it.

And folks, feel free to comment. Silence forces people to think they are alone in this ridiculous battle of the bulge. The strength, and the sanity, are in numbers.

Rock on.