Metabolism Boosters

In our latest Weight Loss Challenge at CourtHouse Fitness Center, we have a hotly contested race for first and just about anyone on any given weigh in is up for third.  It's nice to have a group that is all making headway at about the same pace. 

So how can we chip away at those unwanted pounds?  Increase our metabolism, by golly.
Here are four ways that we can do that and surprisingly three of them include eating and drinking.  Yes!

• Eat lean protein.  Protein takes more energy to digest.  It can raise our metabolism by about 14% which is about as much as we raise it while performing moderate exercise.
• Eat small amounts of energy rich foods every three or four waking hours.  The thermic effect of food accounts for a high percentage of our calorie burn in a day.  If you eat a bit of protein each time, you can "value-add."
• Drinking water also increases our metabolic function.  We suggest that you drink 2 glasses of water each morning upon awakening.  (16 oz)  Also try to drink this amount of water 20 minutes before a meal to help reduce our calorie intake for that meal.
• Exercise can be an excellent "rev" for the system.  Muscle burns 50 more calories a day.  Strength training is a great tool for weight loss in addition to cardio.  When trying to lose weight, its best to incorporate cardio exercise most days of the week.  High Intensity training is a good way to get more bang for your buck if time is limited. 

We've mentioned this before, but weight loss isn't always about eliminating foods.  Try adding these 40 superfoods from Dr. Galland's the Fat Resistance Diet.  They help reduce inflammation and are full of great nutrients.

BEVERAGES (unsweetened)

Blueberry juice

Cherry juice

Green Tea

Pomegranate juice

Vegetable juice 

 

NUTS AND SEEDS (fresh, unsalted, not roasted)

Almonds

Flaxseeds

Sesame seeds

Walnuts

 

FRUIT (fresh)

Apples

Blueberries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Oranges

Pomegranates

 

VEGETABLES

Arugula

Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrots

Leeks

Onions

Romaine lettuce

Scallions

Shiitake mushrooms

Spinach

Tomatoes

 

HERBS AND SPICES

Basil

Black pepper

Cardamom

Chives

Cilantro

Cinnamon

Cloves

Garlic

Ginger

Parsley

Turmeric

 

FISH

Flounder

Salmon

Sole Tilapia

 

OTHER

Egg whites

Yogurt (plain, nonfat

New Year Weight Loss Challenge in Madeira

We're beginning our 2013 Weight Loss Challenge on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m at CourtHouse Fitness Center, 8229 Camargo Road in Madeira. 

For $10 a week here's what's in store:

• Weekly meeting with short-term and long-term weight loss and weight control goals
• Weekly weigh-in
• Weekly group training with personal trainers
• Cash prizes to the top three (highest percentage of weight loss)
• Weekly email coaching
• Body comp assessment
• One-on-one consultation

Call 513-217-3388 if you are interested or email courthousefitness@gmail.com

Rev Up - Metabolic Boosting

When trying to lose weight, it's important to maximize your metabolic powers. (P.S.  even though this sounds like a phenomenal theme for a superhero - actually anyone can give their metabolism a boost through...drum roll please.....diet and exercise!  Great news...hurray.  This is exciting stuff! :) 

One of the biggest mistakes we make when cutting calories to lose weight is cutting too many, which causes our bodies to slooowww dooowwwnnn.  Dr. Oz tells us that when we sleep our metabolism reduces about 10%.  Sleep is also imperative to good health (and studies show that lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain).  So a good way to rev up the calorie burners is to drink water first thing in the morning (16 oz is a good goal).  Beth Steur told us again and again that we need to eat breakfast to break the fast of the night before. 

Let's review our metabolic super powers...
#1 - Drink 16 oz of water in the morning 
#2 - Eat breakfast with protein in it.

Digesting protein can raise the metabolism up to 14%.  Fantastic!  Why, because protein also can aid in satiety which can aid in weight loss due to minimizing overeating and keeping blood sugar in check.  Also an increase in body temp can elevate metabolism up to 14%.  Super!  Short of moving to the tropics, you can elevate your body's temp by up to 4 degrees by working out. 

Let's review our metabolic super powers...
#3 - Eat low fat protein. is a great weight loss tool and it speeds up metabolism while digesting (thermic effect of food)
#4 - Exercise regularly and add variety

If you don't exercise at all and you start today, you will increase your metabolism certainly while exercising.  Some studies suggest that you can continue to ride off that boost up to 16 hours after the exercise.  If you exercise regularly already, the best way to put a shift in your metabolic needs is to change up your exercise program.  Change the way you lift weights, change the order, change the number of sets or reps.  For cardiovascular, try high intensity intervals or change modes go from jogging to biking, biking to swimming. 

One more week until our final weigh in.  Make good choices by planning ahead!

Follow Your Rules

Hopefully, we've had some success shifting our brain away from some of our weight gain habits.  Research shows that we will have the most adherence to our goals if we focus on ONE clear task at a time.  (From Leo Babauta's book, The Power of Less, one specific task leads to 85% adherence, two tasks it drops down to less than 35% and three tasks an abysmal 10% of triumph.) 

In Dr. David Kessler's book, The End of Overeating, he says that we can change how our brain reacts to ingrained food cues.  On page 184, "In the beginning, you'll need to control your actions carefully (RULES), but in the long term, you'll replace one set of automatic behaviors for another."  OK, great...how do we do this? 

Make specific rules about how you will handle a food situation that conflicts with your weight loss.
Make specific rules about what your decision will be at the split second your brain gets the food cue.
Make specific rules about how you will handle a food failure. 

In the section Theory of Treatment in Dr. Kessler's book he suggests that the first step in habit reversal is awareness.  Become aware of what the triggers are that create an overeating situation.  Learning to pay attention to the "urge" will help us realize that we have a choice. (How about making this choice one of your rules?)

The second step is "engaging in competing behaviors."  If we have an old habit, like eating after dinner every night, we need to have a plan of what we are going to do in lieu of eating aimlessly after we've eaten this meal.  Eliminating the cue (like any commercial on night time TV) may be the first step.  Make a rule.  Here's a few to consider:

• I will only allow myself to eat fruit or vegetables after dinner.
• I will only eat while sitting down.
• I will not go in the kitchen after dinner.
• I will allow myself a cup of tea and two graham crackers after dinner.
• I will count how many times I chew my night time snack (be in the present while eating!)
• I will chew gum while cleaning up the kitchen so I don't clean the dishes with my mouth.

Set ourselves up for success.  Rules help pave the way for us to do without having to rely on that sneaky willpower that sometimes turns its back on us!

Sorry, Brain, Things are Gonna Change Around Here

I like saturated fat and salt mixed together.  It tastes really good to me.  Apparently, it is also causing the pleasure center in my brain to light up with glee.  Further to that, according to an article I just read in IDEA’s March Fitness Journal, my brain is hardwired to seek out happiness and safety and shun discomfort.  As much as I think I’m in charge of my decisions and my willpower, my “primal brain” runs the show most of the time and wants me to eat saturated fat and salt mixed together so I’m happy and temporarily safe (in that I’m not going to starve to death at lunch on Tuesday afternoon).  It doesn’t understand or care about the long-term consequences of high cholesterol and excess body fat.

 So is this the end of the road for me and everyone else trying to beat the beast down to lose a few pounds? 

The answer is NO. 

But, how can I change my brain’s reaction to salt and fat pie?  I could make a public declaration espousing the evil of my beloved and how from this day forward, I will not be mesmerized by its allure.  Then tonight when I’m watching American Idol a big juicy burger at the commercial break will start whispering to me, telling me how happy I’ll be if we hook up.  “Primal brain” says, “Go for it, that burger will rock your world.”   You get the picture….

So is this the end of the road for me and everyone else trying to………

The "no" doesn't sound so confident now.  I can see why on Day 2 or Week 3 or whenever, that I'm ready to throw in the towel.  Happy brain circuitry to blame.

So now what...how do I change this neural infatuation short of getting my taste buds removed. 

It doesn't have much to do with hunger.  Studies on humans and animals have found that add salt, fat and sugar and we and our mammal counterparts will keep on eating with reckless abandon. I need to rewrite history by putting in a new set of rules.   

Our task this week, is to make one SMALL, SPECIFIC change to our eating patterns.  Let's not over analyze it initially.  Do we want to drink more water?  Have a small cup next to the sink.  After brushing, drink two glasses of water.  Depending on the size of your cup and how many times we brush our teeth, that could be 16-32 more oz a day. 

Want to eat less carbohydrates? Decide not to eat starchy foods after lunch.  Or write down every carb serving eaten and keep it to six or under.  Remember our serving sizes, ½ cup rice or pasta, 1 slice of bread. 

Want to stop grazing?  Drink a protein shake for a snack.  Or make a snack list of 5 things and don’t divert from it.  Carry prepackaged snacks with you. Or, eat only 5 times a day.  Chew gum. 

What will you change this week?  Be specific.  Start small and achievable.  Share this goal with someone.  Commit to it, but if you falter get back on at your next eating occasion. 

New Challenge Coming Up - Feb. 29

The time is near for our next 6-Week Weight Loss Challenge. 

Start date: FEBRUARY 29 - 7:00 p.m.
Where:  CourtHouse Fitness Center, 8229 Camargo Road, 45243, 513-271-3388
Cost:  $60 with cash prizes to top finishers

Weekly meetings will be on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.  This meeting will include a weigh-in and a circuit class with personal trainers Lauran McHaffie and Pam Strike.

The meetings will include weekly goals that will include nutritional, behavioral and fitness tasks.

To arrange an intial evaluation, contact Beth Steur at 513-390-7468. 

Inflammation Ain't So Swell

We hear a lot about how detrimental inflammation is to our health.  Dr. Oz's You on a Diet and Dr. Galland's The Fat Resistance Diet are GREAT resources to get a better understanding of how our bodies physiologically respond to inflammation at a cellular level. 

From a weight loss stand-point, it is clear that there are certain foods that cause cellular inflammation.  Equivalently, there are foods that can help fight inflammation and subsequently give our metabolism a lift which we KNOW is vital to weight loss.

So here is Dr. Galland's list of 40 Super Foods from page 8 of his book.  He states, "These foods will help fast-track your weight loss by healing your inflammation and restoring your sensitivity to leptin." 

A change in weight loss philosophy for you might be...instead of worrying about what NOT to eat, pay more attention to what you SHOULD eat.  Start eating better and your body will respond and start to "ask" for these foods. 

Here's another way to think about it.  One of the most pivotal steps in life-long weight management is eating healthy 90% of the time. If you break out the math, we eat five times a day (3 meals + 2 snacks).  Multiply that by seven days a week and we eat about 35 times a week (snackers take heed!)  So 90% of 35 is is 31.5.  We need to eat healthy foods that energize our body every time we eat except three and a half times a week.  PLAN, PREPARE, PERSEVERE 

Here's our magic pill #3...nutritious food makes you feel and perform better.  Aha!

BEVERAGES (unsweetened)

Blueberry juice

Cherry juice

Green Tea

Pomegranate juice

Vegetable juice 

NUTS AND SEEDS (fresh, unsalted, not roasted)

Almonds

Flaxseeds

Sesame seeds

Walnuts

FRUIT (fresh)

Apples

Blueberries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Oranges

Pomegranates

VEGETABLES

Arugula

Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrots

Leeks

Onions

Romaine lettuce

Scallions

Shiitake mushrooms

Spinach

Tomatoes

HERBS AND SPICES

Basil

Black pepper

Cardamom

Chives

Cilantro

Cinnamon

Cloves

Garlic

Ginger

Parsley

Turmeric

FISH

Flounder

Salmon

Sole Tilapia

OTHER

Egg whites

Yogurt (plain, nonfat)