Archive for April, 2006
There is a new hype in town and it’s called “ultrametabolism”. Mark Hyman the author of the book claims that you can boost your metabolism by following this diet. For the most part the book is quite harmless, but the diet is going to be hard to maintain without willpower. If we had willpower would we be fad-diet searching?
Probably not. The diet calls for a lot of fruits and vegetables, but the emphasis is on eating natural unprocessed foods. This a great suggestion and very similar to an equally difficult to follow diet, the Fat Flush Plan by Ann Gittleman. The Fat Flush plan really works, but I could not stay on the diet for more than 2 months. Now I am struggling to get back on it because I have recently discovered diet coke with splenda and really hate the idea of giving up my caffeine.
Read a full editorial review from the AOL exercise site. It lists the pros and ons pretty thoroughly. My take is do the Fat Flush one because it accounts for portion control and vitamins to make sure you are getting enough.
AOL’s Review of the book.
Fat Flush on Amazon.
Ultrametabolism on Amazon.
April 27th, 2006
I hate to exercise. I am not a team sport person, nor an individual sport person. My favorite thing to do is to curl up on a couch and read a good book.
Does this sound like you? Join the club. Unfortunately when you’re in this club you’ll slowly gain weight as you get older. Most of us get up in the moring, go to work in a car, come home to an unhealthy dinner, watch some tv, and get ready for bed. Exercise does not appear anywhere in this list, and at work we’re sitting at our desk all day.
I’m like that too, but I’ve realized I have to exercise. After a little while it does get better. 30-45 minutes a day of cardio seems like a large committment but start with something simple that you can do at home.
Saturday mornings I always have a list of errands to run such as the bank, post office, and grocery store. I’ve started a routine where I walk/jog/run my errands in the morning before the sun gets too hot. I get both exercise and my errands of the way. You might say that is too slow. It takes too much time. With some careful planning you can do it too. I usually start with a small empty backpack for keys, wallet, and cell phone.
I jog to the local post office 1 mile away, then to the bank another .5 miles away from the post office, then to Trader Joe’s 2 mile away from the bank, then home 1.5 miles. If this seems like a lot I can get all my errands finished in under 2 hrs. I only save about 30 minutes driving, but I’ve managed to get in 5 miles of exercise.
Try it. Start small.
April 14th, 2006
Not all low-fat, low-calorie diet books are the same.
Personally I’m not a fan of using substitutes such as splenda, so I stay away from the sugar free cookbooks. However if you are a fan by all means try them.
If you know how the Weight Watchers points system works, their books are have a lot of great recipes and tell you the amount they’re worth. For a girl like me I get about 16-20 points a day of food. My rule of thumb is 80 calories a point. It’s more complicated than that, but it gives you an idea.
Buy cookbooks that list the nutritional value of the recipe per serving. This lets you know how fattening or healthy a recipe is. A lasagna recipe might be low in calories but the serving size might be too small to fill you up. Ask yourself if you will be full after the serving size listed, if not calculate how much it will take you to get full.
If it will take you too many servings to get full, then the low-calorie recipe is no good because all it does it shrink the serving size. Look at how many calories you’ve allocated to that meal. Compare this number to how many calories it will take to you make you full for this recipe. If its within the range, then this is the recipe for you.
April 10th, 2006
Women’s Health magazine has a great article on how to figure your daily caloric consumption. It makes some assumptions, but it gives you a good idea of what your ideal weight should be. It also provides a formula to allow you to enter any weight and teaches you how to maintain that weight.
Try it. It is really helpful to give you an idea of how much you need to exercise and how much exercise really affects your diet. For Step A try it with your ideal weight and try it with your current weight. You will need to revisit the calculator as your weight changes.
Women’s Health Article on your perfect weight and how to calculate your caloric intake.
April 6th, 2006
Many of my friends ask me how do you know what is healthy or how to know when to stop eating. The answer is dependent on your height and weight; activity level; metabolism; and sleep patterns.First you have to know how much you currently eat to know if you’re eating less or more. It keeps you honest and accountable. Write everything down even if you feel bad about how much you eat or how unhealthy you eat. Many people realize after keeping a journal for a week that includes the time, quantity, and item they’re eating that they might not be eating a lot. However what they are eating is extremely high in saturated fats and very low in nutrients. This isn’t good for your body even if you are skinny and have a low body fat percentage. Your body needs vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, so eat healthy even if you’re already at your ideal weight.
Task: Start a daily journal writing down all the food you consume, how much of it you eat, and the time you of day you are eating it. Also note water intake.
Goal: Learning to be honest about what you eat and setting the foundation for later.
April 5th, 2006
My work has led me to the world of blogging as well as the media immersed life of my little sister. I’ve thought long and hard about what type of blog to put up. What would people be interested in? What is personal, but not confidential? The conclusion is the launch of this site for girls and women struggling with image issues.
No this is not another fad diet site, nor a pure blog of my daily eating habits. It’s a combination of the knowledge I’ve gained from probably thousands of dollars with personal trainers, physical therapists, pilates instructors, and physicians.
I feel that there are really no sustainable means of losing weight out there that can surpass sheer will. However there are things that can make a difference in helping you keep your will strong. As I see interesting articles or learn new things I will push it out to this blog. Expect to see things such as reviews on diet fad books, training regimen reviews of articles in health magazines, and sometimes just frustrations and ravings of a normal person coping with the stresses of everyday life.
Disclaimer: Please do no take any of my advice as anything more than my own experience and opinion. I have no medical training and every person is different. Consult your own experts to fine tune your experience. I’m just here as encouragement not to incite anger from the medical field.
April 3rd, 2006
