redefine fitness

I have been talking to a lot of clients (and more) about sleep and rest lately.  Not only because it is something near and dear to my heart (it is), but because the change from summer to fall has gotten EVERYONE sick or worn down.  It may sound like an oxymoron that I, a trainer, am telling people to rest instead of exercising every free moment they have.  But I look at clients’ bodies a little differently, and it is no different how I look at (and treat) my own.   Rest is not something we are forced to do when we are sick; it is one of many ways to care for ourselves so that we can RESIST sickness.

These days, sleep seems to be considered a “luxury”.  Let me explain why  try to make it a priority (do I always succeed? NO), and why I encourage clients and all others to do the same.  Don’t worry, this won’t be super technical – that is, the body’s processes are so complex that I couldn’t explain it all if I wanted to.  In a sleep-deprived body, a lot of things short circuit.  You may have experienced (aside from fatigue) crankiness, fogginess, headaches, random aches, sugar cravings, or anything else.  There is a lot of organ recharging and cell repair that goes on while we sleep, and if we don’t get enough sleep, we don’t get properly “recharged” and “repaired”.  When this happens, it puts a huge drain on our system – in effect, the body goes into stress mode (read my previous post for more on stress).  Add to the mix our typical diet that places stress on our body, and it becomes a mindless, vicious cycle.  We drink coffee (lots of it), eat more sugar, drink “energy” drinks (battery acid, I call it)…..after a while we are toast.  And we don’t even know it; we are in effect pumping ourselves up with things that are hurting us even more just to stay AWAKE.  Hopefully you see where I’m going – it’s about more than staying awake.  It’s about caring for our our bodies so those bodies will keep ticking when we really need it.  Like now – when we are all fighting a cough, an allergy, a chill.

The change of season can take a toll on us (which one depends on each person) – I hate to see people getting sick, but it is a daily reminder of how well people are taking care of themselves on a regular basis.  The tank is already drained and there is little left to fight the shorter days, colder nights, and so on.  I am a walking example that it is possible to reverse this cycle – I rarely get full-on sick now.  I sneeze a bit, sleep too lightly, get some digestive upset (TMI?) – but I go to acupuncture, target my diet for what is deficient (with guidance from Chinese medicine, really), slow down a bit,  and I bounce back in a couple days.  I really practice what I preach.  So today, when I told my client to take a bath and go to sleep before 11pm**, I really mean it.  I know it works.  I will help her reach that goal of doing it more often than not, so we can get her body back in balance and get more out of her workouts.  Because in the end, I can work her until she’s sweating bullets every other day, but if her body is not in balance she will see less weight loss -  maybe even none – and the cold that she just got over might come back sooner than she wants.

It should always be a part of anyone’s exercise plan: rest, eat well, SLEEP.  And lay off the coffee!  Take care of your body so, when you need it, your body will take care of you.

**Why 11pm?  Again, we are cyclical: up to 11pm our melatonin rises to make us sleepy (this is when you SHOULD go to bed!).  Between 11pm-1am our bodies are in high speed recharge mode; this is supposed to happen while we are sleeping.   So if you find yourself getting a “second wind” or unable to fall asleep before 1 or 2am, this is why.  It will take some practice to get back to sleeping before 11pm, even though it may sound crazy right now.

The following article comes from my friends at the Life Empowerment Wellness Center in Sandy Springs, GA. They are a holistic chiropractic office with practitioners who, like me, are generally concerned with preventative health care for wellness.  Chiropractic is not just for back pain! (see other myths here.)  Remember, your spinal cord is part of the central nervous system which controls vital organs that create “health”  (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys)……

What Would Happen if Chiropractors Were the Primary Care Doctors for Families?

A progressive thinking HMO in Illinois was investigating varied approaches to cutting costs while producing improved patient outcomes and patient satisfaction rates.  They took a very unconventional approach.  In their investigations they found that chiropractors had one of the broadest educational programs among all health professionals, they had extraordinary safety records for their treatments, they were able to treat patients from infants to seniors with similar results, they were trained when to refer to medical professionals and they had the highest patient satisfaction rate amongst licensed professionals.  On final decision, they chose chiropractors to be the PRIMARY physicians for the families in the test group.  They hypothesized that if patients could be first treated with safe, effective natural therapies (chiropractic care) to resolve the patient’s health concern then they would save thousands in surgeries, medications, side effects and hospitalizations.  The results were stunning!

The first conventional HMO in the U.S. to use doctors of chiropractic as primary care physicians found that after just two years of utilizing the primary care chiropractors, their hospitalizations were reduced by 80%, outpatient surgery was reduced by 85% and prescription drug use was reduced by 56%.

The HMO discovered a secret that the chiropractic profession has been trying to share with the world for more than 110 years now…safe, natural, conservative approaches delivered by doctors of chiropractic produce healthier bodies that are more able to heal from injuries, infections, ailments, and chronic disease.  The care simultaneously produces happier and more satisfied patients who are ready to create healthier lives.  Could you imagine the impact on the health and finances of our country if this health model was implemented across all our 50 states?

Imagine the operating gears of a battery-operated mechanical clock – smooth, precise, efficient.  Now imagine shoving a few grains of sand in those gears – they still might work, but less smoothly, less efficiently.  Put in more and more sand, or larger and larger grains of sand, and the gears will work slower, louder, burn more juice from the batteries, and start affecting the time on the face of the clock – or the clock may stop altogether.

Obviously this is my metaphor for our bodies.  The way our bodies work, to me, is the most complex example of science.  NATURE.  Natural science.   All of our systems (internal organs, muscle groups, or neural pathways for example) interact with each other in order to respond to the “grains of sand” that are introduced on a daily basis.  We were built this way for a reason, and our bodies will make every attempt it can to exist the way it was designed to exist – just like the gears that will keep moving as hard as they can to keep the clock ticking.

Our lifestyles, environmental factors, stress, diet and other external elements (our “sand”) cause much of the illnesses and general health complaints that we experience on an increasing basis.  To remedy these, we claim ’science’ – basically Western interventions – as the savior that we rely upon for a quick solution to the problem.  By Western interventions, I not only mean pharmaceuticals (the foundation of Western medicine), but today’s “diets”, synthetic supplementation, cosmetic surgery, etc.  Of course there are always exceptions – but they are fewer than you think – but otherwise what I’ve just listed is very myopic.  They are not NATURAL science.  They are band-aids that do not address in the long term any causes or solutions that will get our clocks back into natural working order on a whole basis – that is, without experiencing side effects or systemic damage, which then repeats the cycle of relying on “science”.

What I am saying is this: we are getting further away from knowing how to return our clocks to being smooth and efficient as they were meant to be.  We may think that we are living healthy by subsisting on protein shakes and meal replacement bars because the marketing sounds logical and we want to lose weight, but we are actually cheating our bodies from the nutrition that enables them to function the best.  We lose weight in the short term but risk long term damage to our internal systems because it wasn’t lost properly.  Women take a synthetic drug to conveniently have 1 or 2 menstrual cycles per year, because a voice on the commercial told us 1 per month is unnecessary.  We gain convenience and “freedom”, but again we incur long term risks for cancer and other diseases or side effects because we are cheating our hormonal system.

Be careful what you adopt as a “healthy” alternative to the status quo.  I applaud your efforts to lead a healthy life – but so does the multi-billion dollar ‘health and wellness’ industry.  Listen to the claims that are made by these products, do your research, and try to change your mindset from those who fall prey to the allure of convenience and immediate gratification promised by a “magic bullet”.  It does take time to do this – and that is why I do it full time and offer it as a service to people. And there are multiple schools of thought on what really makes our clocks tick naturally.   So if you are going to listen to someone, listen to someone who knows more than what you just heard in a 30-second commercial or read in a major media headline article.  If I haven’t turned you off already, I hope one of the people you listen to is me!

As you can guess, one of my many motives in life is to help people improve their own health – and  much of the time this starts with weight loss through exercise.  Education is my best tool (for example, this blog) to help people create the change they need from within.

However, I am but a soldier on the front lines of the war against obesity and deteriorating health that is sweeping the nation.  I am fighting against the powerful fast food and processed food industries, pharmaceutical industries, fad diets’ and exercise gadgets, video game culture, and myriad other opponents that perpetuate the average American’s sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle – or, as the younger generations view it, all things NORMAL.  Two-thirds of this country is obese – a term that, especially to children, has probably lost meaning.  As we get bigger, so do our cars, meal portions, and clothes sizes – thus resetting what is “normal”.   Big business will not change this as long as it is profitable.  And the growing size of Americans certainly seems to be making someone’s wallet fat.

Here is my point: Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity is something that we should all support and follow.   The President has created the resulting “task force”  to tackle the following objectives:

(a) ensuring access to healthy, affordable food;
(b) increasing physical activity in schools and communities;
(c) providing healthier food in schools; and
(d) empowering parents with information and tools to make good choices for themselves and their families.

The question is, will government get out of its own way and help the fight?  It is a question that was raised this week by one of my friends and colleagues Veronica Brown.  We certainly need to do all we can to shift our own mindset to help ourselves, but Veronica makes a strong point.

As much as I am a fan of personal responsibility, I believe that foods affect our behavior like drugs, and the effect is increased for children. If my belief is a fact, then it would inconsistent to invoke personal responsibility in our use of food while we regulate and legislate tobacco, alcohol, and narcotics.

Example: Is it realistic to expect kids to stay away from a candy machine in school? Can we fault parents for a lack of control when their kids spend their lunch money on candy? Would food companies voluntarily turn their backs on the schools as a market, for the sake of the nation’s health? Would school districts turn down the money they make from these machines?

We should all enlist to fight this battle, but you and I are not powerful to lead it.  I will stand behind the Task Force general because it is the Task Force that can influence the change necessary to keep physical activity in schools, to keep the food and drug industries from killing us by flooding the market with mislabeled, overprocessed, chemical-laden food and drugs, and to provide Americans with the proper “weapons” to prevent obesity and disease (rather than focus on ways to treat it after it’s too late, as is the current norm).  This is the quickest way to lend hope to the fact that not only WE can live long and healthy lives, but that our children and grandchildren have a chance to do the same.

I wholeheartedly agree with Veronica: “I love free enterprise when it works. It works great for magazines, blue jeans, and washing machines. It does not work for addictive substances, assuming we place the highest value on our health and safety.”

“Stress” is a common buzzword in today’s on-the-go culture.   I’ll bet if you kept count, you will say it more than once today.  Often we use it as a broad term to describe a state of mind.  (eg, “I’m stressed out about losing my job!” or “I’m too stressed out to go to the movies.”)  But can it really make you fat?

Think of it in a literal translation, though:  the physical pressure, pull, or other force exerted on one thing by another; strain (thank you, dictionary.com).  The stress you put on your muscles when you lift a weight, for example, is helpful in building and maintaining bone mass.  But I’m not writing to talk about that.  Hopefully you can relate that image to this translation (also from dictionary.com):  a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.  This, of course, describes what you have heard of as “fight or flight” syndrome.   You brain releases cortisol to, in essence, make you temporarily superhuman so you can save yourself from a dangerous situation (such as an encounter with a bear, with which I have personal experience).  Unfortunately, the side effect of that is that it shuts down an many other systems as it can to put all its energy into that one,  superhuman effort to outsmart the bear chasing you up the hill. Once the bear attack is over, your body’s relaxation response kicks in so your brain knows to ease up on the cortisol levels.  Then it goes back to its regularly scheduled program of controlling blood pressure,  glucose metabolism and insulin release (think “blood sugar”), immune function and many others.  This is one of the many amazing, complex balancing acts (Cliffs Notes version given here!) that our bodies can do.

So if elevated cortisol levels in these stressful situations give us “superhuman” responses like increased mental acuity, quick bursts of energy, lower pain threshold and bursts of heightened immunity (remember, you are fighting a bear here), how can it be that bad?  If the levels of cortisol are always high, that’s how.  If you are constantly in a state of STRESS – whether mental or physical – the cortisol is pumping into the bloodstream without the brain being able to tell it to relax (sound familiar?).  Eventually your body will do a mental eye roll and start ignoring the message that the elevated cortisol level is sending – thus it becomes desensitized and no longer elicits that “superhuman” response.  After a prolonged period of time, you will get the opposite reaction as your chronic stress tires your body out.  Then, you might experience this:

• decreased mental acuity
• blood sugar imbalance (hypoglycemia, for example)
• elevated blood pressure
• decreased immunity
• abdominal fat

Yikes.  Do you know anyone who is constantly stressed (at work, say) and ALWAYS sick?  Know you know why.   And you may know that abdominal fat puts you at a higher risk for heart disease (and all related factors).  There even may be a connection to higher cortisol levels and overeating (especially refined carbohydrates) – which can also contribute to unwanted FAT!   This highlights the importance of recognizing and managing your stress levels.  Everyone has different responses to different amounts of stress, but none of it is good on a chronic basis.

Exercise is a great way to reduce stress levels – even a little physical activity can expel that pent-up tension (unless your chronic stress comes from overexercising, but that’s not usually the case these days – more on that later).  You can kill two birds with one stone by reducing stress AND burning fat.  Massage, acupuncture, yoga and meditation have gained popularity as a regular part of Americans’ fitness and health regimen; it really is important to relax and rebalance too! If you are a stress eater, try to outsmart yourself by using a diversion (take a walk, nap or even some deep breaths for a few minutes); just steer clear of those foods (like sugar!) by not allowing yourself close to them in the first place.  Of course, sleep is the magic process that allows your body to reset and repair, so don’t ignore that, especially in high-stress times when you are feeling run down.  I love sleep.  It’s so underrated.

I recommend any of these practices over supplementation (if you know me well you know I’m not a huge fan of that anyway).   You may have seen commercials for cortisol-reducing pills to lose weight (DHEA and adaptogens, for example).  Aside from the studies that show these may not work (there may be other issues in the body that contribute as well), the basic fact is that we are dealing with hormones.  Hormones are a chemical that your body makes to be used somewhere else in your body; that’s nature.  Consuming a synthetic chemical that simulates a hormone is just not the same.  Plus,  your body knows how to balance these things out – if you are not even sure what hormones are at what levels because of stress or any system imbalance, popping a pill is probably not the smartest thing.  If you really need to take this route, at least do it under the direction of a doctor who has tested your blood levels.  But remember, imbalanced hormone levels don’t just happen – which means they are not usually the solution.  Try reducing your stress and taking a look at your physical activity and diet (start with your meat, dairy and sugar intake) to see what is creating the problem.  Then, you’ll have a better chance at avoiding the unwanted fat and disease that comes with it.

Recently, a friend of mine (who happens to be my acupuncturist) had an opportunity to perform acupuncture on the radio.  She was demonstrating facial rejuvenation (yes, there is a cheaper alternative to plastic surgery), but they also talked about some other aspects too.  The video they took  may answer one of many questions out there about acupuncture – how it works, what it looks like, what it can treat.

Follow this link to Leslie’s blog to see the video from Star94.  It is far from comprehensive (it’s only 2+ minutes long) but if you are still curious please feel free to keep reading her blog!

This summer, help yourself feel great by treating yourself well.  You probably have plenty of exercise opportunities lined up – outdoor sports, swimming, hiking, etc.  And you may pride yourself on the fact that you don’t eat nearly as much or as bad as you do in the winter.  Just make sure you don’t forget to fuel yourself right so you have all the energy you’ll need.  And if you feel good, you’ll look good!

A few months ago, I touched on the importance of nutrition and exercise.  Here are a few, more detailed items to remember this summer:

• Fuel up before and after your physical activity. Leave yourself enough time after you eat, of course, to digest before you go outside for a hike or run.  Make it count with a little protein, complex carbs, and fat so you have enough energy to sustain you (it doesn’t need to be a lot!).  Afterwards, make sure you have some protein and complex carbs within and hour or so.  This will go a long way to repair your muscles and cells, and restore your energy so you can enjoy the rest of your day.  Try some hummus and whole wheat pitas, or a small scoop of beans and rice.
• Have water, will travel….In short, drink water, and a lot of it.  You should drink half your body weight in water (ounces), but this does not account for what you sweat off in the summer heat, much less if you are exercising (or just running your kids around from place to place!).  Don’t go anywhere without taking water or making sure you will have access to water.  Then, make sure you drink it.  If you are consistently “thirsty” in the heat, it’s already too late; drink water to avoid becoming so thirsty.  In addition, you should drink at least an extra glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have at that picnic.  Alcohol will dehydrate you – so if you are being active outside for a long period of time, it’s even better to try to avoid it altogether.  You will perform and feel better!
• Breakfast and sensible meals are still your friends. Vacations, varying schedules and other summer events can have you on the go from morning till night.   Just remember that you may need to work even harder to ensure that you have the most important energy boost of the day (breakfast, in case you were wondering) and search out smart meal and snack choices (or pack them to travel with you – and meal replacement bars and shakes do NOT count).  This will keep you healthy and energetic (ie, not dragging yourself into bed every night),  looking great and feeling great (did I mention that healthy fats like avocado and olive oil, and “good”  carbs like brown rice and millet can put a little “happy” in your brain too?).

You may even want to print this and put it next to your mirror or on your refrigerator as a daily reminder to treat yourself well.  Most importantly, just go enjoy the summer!

If there was a magic button for everything, then we wouldn’t be so fascinated by movies like “Mary Poppins” and commercials with the Staples “Easy” button.  The truth is, there isn’t a magic button, wonder pill or super man (or woman) to make the tough tasks in your life easier.  Accepting that is the first step.  It’s true for your health and fitness as much as it is for other business and personal pursuits.

I know you have the ability to achieve the fitness goal you want.  Everyone does.  All you have to do is convince yourself of this fact and learn how to overcome your obstacles and practice motivating yourself.  It’s a learned habit, and is a large part in your success.  And yes, sometimes it means ignoring that little voice in your head (it’s not always right, you know).  Don’t worry about what you don’t know (you can always hire a personal trainer or learn from others for those tips!) and just focus on taking the time to care for yourself.

Here are 2 things that I recommend to get you going:

1. Make an appointment with yourself. This is what I hear a lot: “I wouldn’t have stopped to work out if I didn’t have you coming to me!”  Overcome that obstacle by penciling yourself into your schedule during the day.  Find out the time when you will be the least likely to argue with yourself, and then do it, even if it’s 15 minutes at first.  After doing this several times, the little voice in your head that says “I can’t” or “I don’t want to” will die off.
2. Write it down. It’s amazing what games your mind can play with you.  But if you write it down, it’s hard to ignore.  Document your goal (a realistic one, please) on paper and KEEP IT.  Keep a daily log of your exercise and eating habits.  You will begin to see patterns that will help you change or improve upon what you are doing.  If things don’t work, change them.  This is a powerful tool that I use with all my clients.  It can also work for you.

Enjoy the ride and be patient!  Success doesn’t happen overnight.  Good luck!

At the risk of sounding cliche….Adequate exercise and proper nutrition make an excellent pair!  According to the American Dietetic Association, March is National Nutrition Month.  This is a great time to think about your eating habits and how they work together with your level of fitness.  Whether you are trying to lose weight, maintain your weight or improve your level of general fitness, adopting better eating habits in conjunction with more physical activity will give you the greatest opportunity for success.  Here are a few reasons why:

• Your body needs energy to work. Food is your energy source.  You need energy for basic daily functions, but you also need it when you are working out for oxygen delivery to your muscles, for example.  The higher the quality of the energy source, the better you will perform AND feel.  So remember that it’s not just how many calories you eat, it’s about where those calories are coming from (think fruits and vegetables, and lots of them)!

• Your body has a “set point”. Changing your diet can initially result in dramatic weight loss for those needing to lose a lot of weight.  But at some point your body will plateau as it reaches the point where it is again comfortable with the balance between your caloric intake (energy input) and your activity level (energy output) – this is the “set point”.  Incorporating exercise into your health plan wil help you burn more calories and increase your energy output.

• Exercise will help control your appetite. Studies show that regular (moderate) exercise decreases appetite.  Make sure you drink water while you exercise, too, as water can have the same effect (believe it or not, sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger). The added bonus is that getting off the couch to work out eliminates eating out of boredom!

To look good, you have to eat right.  Those lean, toned people in magazines don’t look that way by eating fast food and then running an extra few miles.  Muscle tone and a lean body also result from getting the proper amounts of proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits and veggies – and water!  You’ll be surprised at how good your skin looks and how much better your test results are at your yearly checkup too.

So the first month of 2009 is over.  You know what that means – time to assess your  New Year’s resolution progress!  Before you start groaning….there is hope.  Although many are feeling the fizzle of the initial dedication and excitement of a healthy change, this is a chance to get refreshed.  Instead of quitting, consider revising!  (Hint: Now’s your second chance to set a healthy goal for 2009 in case you forgot…)

Take a few minutes to really think about your New Year’s resolution.  Avoid these common pitfalls by making it more user friendly if necessary:

• Choosing a resolution that is too vague: Not being specific in your goal-setting will make success very hard.  Make it easy on yourself by setting parameters that you can work with.  For instance, don’t say “I’m going to get back into shape this year!”  You will probably find yourself waking up every day without any direction on what to do, and you will put it off.  Instead, be specific by telling yourself “I’m going to lose 20 pounds before next Christmas by going to the gym for one hour on Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings”  or “I’m going to firm up my middle and improve my low back pain in 2009 by doing core-strengthening and stretching exercises on Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings.”

• Choosing a resolution that is not realistic: Being specific in your goal is one step, but make sure you can attain it.  Losing 20 pounds in 12 months is very attainable; losing 50 pounds so you can wear a swimsuit in 4 months is most likely not.  Even though your longer term goal may be hefty, don’t allow yourself to get frustrated by expecting huge gains in little time if you can’t spend the time necessary to do so.

• Choosing a resolution that you are not ready to commit to: In the end, this is YOUR goal.  The rate of success you experience will come from the change you make within.  There is no quick fix for anything, so if you are not ready to incorporate something into your lifestyle without shuddering, pick something else that will perhaps set the stage for you in the future.  If you say you are cutting out red meat, dairy and refined sugars because you “really should,” you will probably find it quite difficult (and be crabby in the process).  Maybe this year you eat red meat 3 days a week instead of 6, because you are interested in expanding your diet choices and improving your health.  Next year, you can attack refined sugars.

So this year, do yourself a favor – take the points I’ve explained here and KEEP your resolution.  It’s not too late to get going.  You have 11 months left!