As we grow up we are constantly told what is healthy for us; whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.  Yet when we become adults and get to make all of our own food choices, we don’t always tend to make the healthiest choices.  Besides, it is far easier to go to a fast food joint for something quick to put in our stomachs (I cannot in good conscience call it “food”) or go to the grocery store and buy a premade dinner that has chemicals in it that you cannot pronounce.  I don’t think that I’m a breaking any new ground by saying that getting ingredients from your local farmers market, your own garden, or a farm-share program and cooking with them is a far more healthy alternative.  A good rule to follow is that if a food item has anything in it that you cannot identify (mixed tocopherols or potassium bromate, e.g.) then you probably shouldn’t be putting it in your body.  Whenever possible you should use locally sourced ingredients as they will be fresher (translation: tastier) and you will be able to reduce your carbon footprint that much more.  When you go into your local grocery store’s fruit and vegetable section, the labels should tell you at the very least the country of origin of that fruit and vegetable.

Meat used to be considered a delicacy; a special treat reserved for special occasions or as a status symbol for those who could afford to eat it every day.  Now, thanks to the industrialization of the meat industry meat is plentiful and cheap.  This is good news for our bank accounts but unfortunately it is also bad news for our world.  It takes significantly more energy to produce a cow or pig then it does to grow crops.  That is because not only do we have to grow our crops to feed ourselves, but now we also have to grow crops to feed our animals as well.  Not only do we have to spend energy on growing feed crops for our animals, we also have to use fertilizers and pesticides to make sure that the crops come in on time and whole.  Then you add in the methane (another big greenhouse gas) that these animals produce as a byproduct of their digesting the crops that we’ve fed them with.  If you’re interested in reading about the carbon footprint of a cheese burger (and it is more than a little depressing), Jamais Cascio has written an excellent article on that. Carbon Footprint of a Cheeseburger.

We know how to eat healthy, it just requires more effort.  We know we want the world to survive so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy it, it just requires more effort.  I’m not expecting every reader to immediately become a vegetarian and only eat locally sourced produce.  However, I do want everyone to take a look at their diet and think about how they can change it for the better.  Maybe you simply eat less meat or maybe you buy a share in a farming-coop.

I hope to be doing a continuing series on how to eat healthier and save the environment at the same time.  Please leave comments in the comment section if you have any tips or any questions about what you can do!

1.)    When your body is fit, your confidence is generally sky high!

2.)    If you are feeling stressed out, nothing relieves stress quite like taking your frustrations out on exercise.

3.)    Look better naked! Let’s face it, we are all generally our own worst critics and if we feel comfortable in our own skin we will be more comfortable with everything else!

4.)    Better sex.  Tying into #3, when we look better naked, we have more confidence in our abilities.

5.)    There are 168 hours in the week, workout hard for 3 of them and feel the benefit for the other 165 hours!

6.)    Set goals and then meet them! Nothing feels better than reaching that long time goal, whether it is to lose 20 lbs or to be able to squat 300 lbs.  Setting goals will help keep you on track as well!

7.)    Live life the way you want to!  Your fitness level should never dictate what you can or can’t do!  If you work hard, then you can do anything you set your mind to!

8.)    Exercise keeps you young!  I’ve seen 30 year olds who look like they’re 60 because they don’t take care of themselves.  Conversely, I’ve seen people in their 60s who look like they are in their 30s because they constantly are challenging their bodies!

9.)    Exercise makes you happier!  When do you feel better, 30 minutes after a good workout or 30 minutes after you eat a whole box of donuts?

10.) When you look and feel your best, you are at your best!  Never settle for what you have now, aim high!

Fruit & Vegetables:

1. Apple Slices with either 1 tbs peanut butter or 1 small slice of cheddar cheese.
2. Ants on a log.  2 pieces of celery with thinly spread peanut butter and raisins on top.
3. 1 Banana with a small handful of mixed nuts (Almonds & Walnuts are especially good).
4. Carrots & Celery. Go nuts with these guys if you’re eating them plain.  You will get full long before you ruin your diet with these high fiber low calorie vegetables.

Nuts & Seeds:

1. 1 Handful of mixed nuts (approximately ½-3/4 a cup).
2. Roasted Pumpkin seeds. My favorite recipe is to roast them with some curry powder.
3. Sunflower Seeds (watch the salt content if you buy these in a store).

Low Fat Dairy Products:

1. Single serving of Yogurt with ¼ cup granola.  Watch the sugar count for both the yogurt and granola.  I go with plain low fat yogurt and homemade granola.
2. String Cheese with a single piece of lean lunchmeat.  String Cheese isn’t just for kids any more, it is a delicious low calorie snack.
3. Cottage Cheese with a slice of cantaloupe.

Whole Grains:

1. 1 Small whole grain pita with hummus.
2. 4 whole grain crackers with 2 small slices of low fat cheese.

The first thing I noticed was the fine print in the ad.  Give Taco Bell’s lawyers some credit because they were working hard to cover their own ass.  First, their spokeswoman (hereby to be referred to as Female Jerad) mention that “these results aren’t typical, but for me they were fantastic.”  They also add in the fine print that their Drive Thru Diet “is not a weight loss program” and that these items are “not a low-calorie food.”  So despite the commercial’s obvious intention of have Female Jerad convince us that we can also lose weight by choosing healthy Taco Bell options, all of the fine print and legalese put into the ad makes sure to tell us that this probably won’t work.  Oh yeah, Female Jerad also mentions that she started making “other sensible choices.”  Could these “other sensible choices” involve exercising more and eating healthier food when not gorging herself on Taco Bell?  It also doesn’t tell us how often Female Jerad was eating at Taco Bell.  If you generally have a healthy diet, making the occasional (1 per week or less) trip through the fast food drive-thru will not kill your diet (ed note: not that I approve of fast food, but realistically it is OK to have it once in awhile).  Clearly, Taco Bell’s ad executives and lawyers are trying to pull a fast one on us by making Taco Bell appear healthy without actually telling us that it is healthy (because the lawyers know that they would eventually get sued for that).

With this commercial Taco Bell is advertising their new Fresco line of foods which all have less than 9 grams of fat.  However despite having less fat than their other offerings, these Fresco products do not have significantly fewer calories than their more fat filled brethren (remember they have already told us that they are not a low-calorie food).  The Crunchy Taco Supreme is 200 calories; the Fresco version cuts that to 150. The Fresco burrito supreme with steak keeps it at 330 calories, while the normal version hits 380.  That is a mere 50 calorie difference between Fresco and full fat Taco Bell.  Now obviously that can add up, especially given that my experience is that no one goes to Taco Bell for one burrito or one taco.  If you were to go to Taco Bell (and again, I don’t recommend this), I would recommend looking at the Fresco menu first, but that doesn’t mean that it is healthy.  Just because something is less bad for you doesn’t mean that it is good for you.  If you want to lose weight then you do need to start watching what you eat and making “sensible choices.”  The most sensible choice you could make?  Give up your fast food and eat something real!

Before I was a personal trainer, I worked a standard 9-5 office job.  There were days when it was cold and rainy outside and after a long day of work all I wanted to do was go home and watch an episode of The Simpsons.  With excuses flying around in my head as to why I could get away with not going to the gym that day, I would mysteriously find myself in my gym clothes walking in the rain towards the gym five minutes later.  My body had become so programmed that it automatically put me on my path to the gym.  I know what you are thinking, “Yeah, but Stephen, you are crazy and enjoy working out.  I could never have that happen to me.”  But you would be wrong to think that.  You can program you body to take you to the gym, just like you’ve programmed your body to brush your teeth before bed or take a shower in the morning.  These are actions that are just so automatic to us that we do them without thinking.  If you get in the routine of going to the gym, pretty soon you will find that it too is an automatic part of your day.  So on those dark December days when you don’t feel like going to the gym, remember that you are improving yourself every time you head to the gym.  Don’t let excuses get you out of exercise, work those excuses out of your life!

Strategy #1: Prep for the Big Meals

As I discussed in my last blog post, overeating is one of the biggest culprits of Holiday Weight Gain.  While I’d like to think that my words of warning have thoroughly changed your life forever, I am far too realistic to assume that there won’t be some over-indulgence occurring during those delicious holiday meals.  While I still encourage you to listen to your body and stop eating when you are satisfied, if you know you will be reaching for that third helping of turkey, stuffing & gravy there are ways that you can prepare yourself ahead of time to limit damage control.  The first thing you can do is eat slightly smaller meals leading up to the big holiday meal.  Do not skip meals, but just limit the portions a little bit more before and after the big meal.  This will help average out the massive amount of calories that you consume (the average American consumes well over 3,000 calories on Thanksgiving dinner alone).  Another strategy is to make sure that you are drinking lots of water.  Before dinner, have a glass of water and then continue to drink water during the meal.  Water is your ultimate ally because it has 0 calories and is filling (especially when combined with food).  Drinking water will help you feel full and keep you from consuming too much during those big holiday meals (and other meals as well).  Remember that if you substitute another beverage for water that you will be gaining extra calories from it, especially if you decide to substitute water with an alcoholic beverage or soda.

Strategy #2: Get Some Exercise

It bears repeating that if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.  Luckily there are a number of ways that we can fit exercise into our holidays.  First off, most gyms offer a good exercise class on Thanksgiving Day to help you burn some calories before you eat your large supper. Warning Shameless Plug Ahead: If you are in the Portland area, Alameda Fitness Center will be offering a wonderful exercise class on Thanksgiving at 9 AM.  It will be taught by yours truly, and best of all it will be completely free! End Shameless Plug. Other strategies you can use to burn some extra calories involve having some family game that involves running around (a game of touch football for example) will make sure everyone is working off their 3,000+ calorie binge.  If you come from a non-athletic family, doing something as simple as going for a walk will be a positive step.  This can either be a wonderful opportunity to bond with your family and friends as you go for a group walk in between the main course and dessert, or if you need to get away from your friends and family a good healthy way to do so.

Strategy #3: Make Substitutions

If you are doing the cooking (or doing part of the cooking) for these holiday meals, that means that you are in control of how many calories are in the dishes.  Just because Great Aunt Mildred put two cups of lard into her pie crusts does not mean that you have to follow her recipe to the letter.  With baked goods, try to use whole grain flour instead of enriched white flour.  This will help prevent an insulin spike in your body and also save you an average of 77 calories.  If a recipe calls for milk, use skim milk instead of whole or 2% milk.  It will be just as creamy but will have significantly less fat and calories.  Finally, replace eggs with egg substitute (like Egg Beaters) in your cooking and baking.  It will save 60 calories and 238 mg of cholesterol and you won’t even know the difference.  These are just some of the substitutions you can make.  Go ahead and be creative, start a new holiday tradition of healthier cooking for your big holiday meals.  Your body and future generations will thank you!

Enemy #1: Overeating

In a future blog post I will talk more about some of the better food choices to make during the holidays, but for now I want to talk about the sheer amount that people eat during the holiday season.  For some reason we decide to celebrate the pilgrims being rescued from starvation by stuffing ourselves with enough calories to feed the entirety of the Mayflower.  While a traditional Thanksgiving meal is one of my favorite meals of all time, it does not mean that you need to eat like there is no tomorrow just because everyone else is.  Instead try and treat it like any other meal; eat until you are satisfied and save a little room for dessert and enjoy leftovers the next day.  Just because your family bought a 30 lb turkey does not mean that it is your goal to finish it in one sitting.  The same goes for Christmas cookies and other treats; just because they are not around 12 months of the year does not mean you have to stuff your cheeks like a squirrel burying acorns for the winter.  Having one or two once in awhile will not ruin your diet, however having one or two entire batches a week will certainly expand that waistline.  Also, do not take your eating cues from those around you.  Just because cousin Fred has a serving of mashed potatoes the size of Mt. Hood or that Aunt Muriel baked her famous triple layer chocolate peanut butter bars does not mean that you have to eat as much as everyone else.

Enemy #2: Stress

This is a big one for most people.  Travelling, getting Timmy the hot toy that is sold out everywhere, and dealing with the in-laws are just some of the stresses that we need to deal with during the holidays.  Unfortunately for us, our body’s natural defense mechanism when it feels stressed is to put on weight.  In biological terms, when we feel stressed our body wants to conserve as much energy as it can so that we can outlast this stressful situation.  How does our body store energy?  By building up our fat reserves of course!  To make matters worse, many of us when we feel stressed will turn to our vices for comfort.  When we have spent all day in a crowded mall looking for the perfect present for everyone, that Cinnabon stand can seem like a wonderful way to treat ourselves.  Unfortunately, that brings us back to enemy #1, overeating.  In order to combat stress, the best thing to do is to recognize what is causing the stress, take a few deep breathes, and remember the true meaning of the holidays is about being with the people you love.  Another good way to combat stress is to workout.  Yes, I know that we have more time constraints during the holidays, but try to take at least 45 minutes a day for yourself and do some exercise.  It will take your mind off of the stress and burn calories at the same time.  It will help you be more relaxed and can definitely help keep those pounds off during the holiday season.

Enemy #3: Excess Alcohol

Something about the holidays just seems to lead people to drink more than they do the rest of the year (and I’m not just talking about your New Years Eve Party).  Sometimes it is because we are around those we love and we want to drink and be merry with them.  Sometimes it is because we think we need the alcohol to get through dealing with unpleasant family member/traditions.  Either way, we end up having more than our fair share of alcohol during this time of year.  While I am not saying that you should not drink during the holidays, I am saying that much like overeating, overdrinking is a good bet to gain weight.  Alcohol contains empty calories that contain energy but no nutrition.  While it is ok to deviate a little from your normal patterns of consumption, do not go crazy.  In fact, you’ll have better memories of the holidays if you don’t get smashed at every holiday function.

Whenever I meet with a potential client, one of the first things that I ask them is, “what are your goals in terms of fitness?”  The answer obviously varies from client to client but often times these goals are over generalized and not well thought out.  People say that they want to lose weight or they want to be stronger or simply look better naked.  While these are good starting points, they need to be fleshed out in order to have any real meaning.  If someone comes in and says I want to lose weight and lose 1 lb are they going to be satisfied?  Probably not.  It is important with fitness (and with life in general) that we set real concrete goals that we can achieve.  If you want to lose weight, a good place to start is to think about how many pounds you really want to lose.  After you determine the amount, then you need to set a timeline for when you would like to see this take place.  Obviously you need to be realistic and saying you want to lose 35 lbs by next week is probably not going to happen unless you have some liposuction scheduled.  I like to have my clients break their goals down into 3 separate timelines; a short-term goal which is something you want to accomplish in one month’s time, a medium-term goal which is 6 months, and a long-term goal which is 1-2 years.  By breaking your goals down this way it is much easier to set yourself up for success.  Saying that you want to lose 35 lbs or increase your bench press (or other random strength measurement) by 50% is a very daunting task.  By breaking it down into smaller pieces such as losing 5-7 lbs or increasing your bench press weight by 10 lbs in one month, you are giving yourself a much easier target to hit.  Plus, because the goal is smaller than your long term goal you are not likely to be intimidated by it.  At the end of the month you can sit down and check on your status.  If you made your goal, give yourself a pat on the back and create a new goal for next month.  If you fell a little short of your goal, examine why you didn’t meet your expectations and come up with a plan to fix the problem that kept you from achieving it.  Then set the goal again and try and hit it.    As you head towards your long term goal there are probably going to be months were you might not meet your goal, realize that it’s ok to fall a little short once in awhile as long as you make adjustments to correct whatever stopped you from meeting your goals.

Top Tips For Setting Goals:

◊  Be realistic.  Setting unrealistic goals sets you up for failure and frustration.
◊ Break you goals down into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.
◊ Focus on the short-term goals.  Don’t get overwhelmed by the long-term goals.
◊ Make adjustments as necessary.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
◊ Do not panic if you fail to meet a short-term goal.  Use it as a learning experience and make any changes that are needed.

Planks

Plank exercises are a simple way of improving the strength of you core by holding yourself up.  To perform a plank, lie face down on the ground with your forearms and elbows underneath your chest.  Then prop yourself up into a bridged position using your toes and forearms.  Keep your body in a straight line and hold for as long as you can (aim for increments of 15 seconds; 30, 45, 60 seconds).  It is important that you keep your body in a straight line and not let your hips start to sag.  When this happens you can put a lot of stress on your lower back.  However don’t over compensate and raise your butt high in the air as this takes the emphasis of the exercise off of the core.

Modifications of Planks:

Side Planks: Simply turn over to one side using one of your forearms to prop you up.  Targets the oblique muscles (the core muscles on your sides).

BOSU Planks: Do a normal plank with a BOSU ball or other stabilization device underneath your forearms.

1 Leg Planks: Do a normal plank but raise one foot off of the ground.

Core Cable Press

The core cable press is one of my personal favorite exercises to do.  It works your core without you having to move your muscles.  To perform this exercise you will need a cable pulley system (every gym should have something that works), and adjust the height of the cable so that it comes to mid chest level. With a hand-over-hand grip, grab a handle attached to the mid pulley of a cable station. Stand with your side facing the stack and spread your feet beyond shoulder width, knees slightly bent. Step away so the cable is taut. Hold the handle against your chest and brace your abs. This is the starting position. Slowly extend your arms in front of you until they’re straight, and bring them back.  Make sure that you do this exercise facing both ways so that you can work your core evenly.  Also, do not try to overload yourself on this exercise.  Start at a light weight (I have my clients start at 30 lbs) and work your way up slowly.

Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a great core stabilization exercise but they are not for the feint of heart.  They will definitely get your heart racing (which is good if you want to lose some weight to show off you toned core) and make you curse the world (OK, maybe that’s just me when I do them).  To perform a mountain climber start by getting into pushup position with your palms flat on the floor and feet on either your toes or balls of the feet.  Lift your right knee up to your chest, supporting yourself only with your hands and your left leg. Quickly return the right leg to pushup position and do the same move with the left leg.  Repeat this process as quickly as possible (you should only have one foot on the ground at a time).  As with planks, it is important to keep your body in a straight line.  Do not raise your butt high in the air.

Modifications of Mountain Climbers:

BOSU Mountain Climbers: Flip a BOSU Ball over so that you can grab the plastic bottom and perform a mountain climber as normal.

Swiss Ball Mountain Climbers: Perform mountain climbers while holding onto a Swiss ball (yoga ball).

Mountain Climber Twists: When bringing your right knee up, twist so that it goes towards your left elbow and when bringing your left knee up, twist so that it goes towards your right elbow.

Stability Ball Foot Touches

This is a wonderful exercise to challenge your core and make it work to keep you stable.  Start by placing your feet on a Swiss ball and getting into a normal pushup position (you should now find your body is roughly parallel to the floor).  Take your right leg off of the ball and move it out to the right and then down to touch your toe to the floor.  In a controlled manner bring your leg back up and over to the ball.  Repeat with your left leg.  It is important that you keep yourself in control while doing these motions so that you do not roll off of the ball.  To adjust the intensity of this exercise simply reposition when your legs are resting on the ball, closer to your knees will make it easier and further out until you are on your toes will make it more difficult.

Why won’t crunches develop a tight, toned midsection?  If you watch any late night infomercials you are sure to see a product that will make getting the core of your dreams a snap and it is generally based on doing a form of crunches!  Here is the problem, you can have huge abdominal muscles but as long as you have a layer of body fat you won’t see them.  In fact, for men if you have more than 10% body fat you won’t see a six-pack.  For women, that number is closer to 17% body fat.  Here is the other bad news about crunches, and I’m going to piss a lot of infomercial directors off by saying this, spot reduction is a myth.  Let me repeat that one more time, spot reduction is a myth!  Just because you work an area all day long does not mean that the body area worked is where you will lose fat.  Genetics play a huge role in where our bodies store extra fat and therefore play a huge role in where we lose that extra fat first.  Here is another bummer for men, most of the time our bodies are designed to store fat right on our midsections which means that that will be the last fat to go.  So if you want six-pack abs or just a more toned midsection you need to spend more time on exercises that burn more calories.  Build muscle mass in your chest, back, and legs that will help you burn calories all day long and speed up your metabolism.  Going for a run to burn calories is a much better way to get that tight, toned midsection than spending hours doing nothing but crunches.

OK, now why aren’t crunches functional?  When performing a crunch, we are moving the top part of the muscle towards the bottom part of the muscle.  In real life when we use our rectus abdominis (abs) we move the bottom part of the muscle towards the top.  In other words, when we are doing crunches, we are training our core to do exactly the opposite of what it will spend most of its time doing.  I have yet to find a time when we engage our core to move our shoulders towards our pelvis.  When we bend over, the abs are shortening, but we are not firing them.  Instead we are simply letting gravity take us down.  I believe that when we exercise, we should be doing things that will help us in the real world.  Whether that means playing a sport, participating in an activity, or simply living life, the exercises that we do should make these easier.  Crunches simply do not do this!

So if you have a low percentage of body fat and are really desperate to get those six-pack abs, go right ahead and do crunches.  For the rest of us, I recommend we spend less time doing a functionless movement and more time working on exercises that will help us in day to day life.  Next week I’ll do a blog post about functional core exercises that will help you in your day to day life and as an added bonus help you develop those core muscles that can lead to a six-pack look!