An article on Divine Caroline titled Portion Size, Then and Now that popped up on Digg today, is an excellent example of one of the principles of a fit life, Moderation. Portion Size, Then and Now is also a great prelude to my next two posts in the nutrition series.
Doggie bags however, are not an ideal tool when learning to eat healthier. Find out why in my next post.
Ever Wonder Why?
Without the letter t, diet becomes die—fitting, because dieting sucks the life out of a person. Diets are hard work and they have too many rules and not enough rewards. Even worse, diets are isolating, self-deprecating, and downright frustrating. Diets are depressing. Diets suck. Diets aren’t the answer to permanent weight loss or a fit life.
Most of what I’ve learned about healthy eating is covered in Dr. Barry Sears’ Zone. Thus, the Zone is an excellent starting point for understanding the relationship between weight loss and fat, as well as your unique response to that relationship. Digesting this premise is essential for anyone desiring permanent weight loss and its positive effects on the body.
In my last post, I bit off more than I could chew (ha ha) by promising to cover the Zone in my next post. What I want to share is much more than one post’s worth of information. So, this is Part I of a series of posts about healthy eating, based on Dr. Sears’ research.
You: Zero, Diet: 12. Game Over
Let’s begin with the critical truths outlined in Enter the Zone about the relationship between weight loss and fat.
1. Eating fat does not make you fat. Fat is the body’s response to excess carbohydrates. The body has a limited capacity for carbohydrate storage. All excess carbohydrates are converted into body fat.
2. It’s hard to lose weight by simply restricting calories. Eating less and losing excess body fat do not automatically go hand-in-hand. Low-calorie, high-carbohydrate diets generate biochemical signals in the body that make it difficult to access stored body fat for energy. The result is a weight-loss plateau.
3. Diets based on choice restriction and calorie limits usually fail. People on food restriction and calorie limits are grumpy. They feel deprived and get tired of being hungry all the time.
4. Weight loss has little to do with will power. Information, not will power, leads to weight loss. It is possible to eat satisfying meals and still lose fat.
5. There are good foods and there are bad foods. The ratio of protein, carbohydrates, and fat effect how the body uses and stores energy. The right ratio of protein to carbohydrates to fat in each meal is the key to permanent weight loss and a fit life.
6. The biochemical effects of food on the body have not changed in the last 40 million years. All mammals respond to food similarly. These responses have been genetically conserved throughout evolution and are unlikely to change in our foreseeable future.
Understanding these critical truths is the first step in learning the relationship between permanent weight loss and fat. Some of these truths may be hard to swallow because they’re the opposite of what we’re subject to in magazines, books, commercials, and ads. Hopefully, number four will be a relief to you. Getting, understanding, and using information leads to success, not just in weight loss, but in life.
If you want to learn more the Zone, start with Enter the Zone. It should be available in your local library. If you need some time to let these truths sink in, you can come back for Part II on healthy eating.
Have a great day!
The critical truths are from Enter the Zone.
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With May nearly upon us, it’s hard to not think of summer, shorts, and swimsuits. It’s that time of year when we all want to look our best. Cut the below items out of your diet and add the substitutes to shed those winter pounds.
Regular Soda. Switch to diet. The lack of sugar is better for your teeth (less cavities) and won't cling to your waistline. Soda is generally consumed in large amounts, that's why drinking regular soda pack on the pounds without you noticing it. It's basically a tall glass of sugar water.
Fruit Juice, Sport Drinks, Tea. Like soda, these drinks are full of empty calories that you’re probably not burning off. Drink water, Crystal Light, or homemade iced tea and lemonade made with Splenda (or another no-calorie sweetner) instead. Great taste and no calories--no need to burn off what drank.
Frappucinos, Chai Tea, Mochas. Even with skim or soy milk, they’re loaded with sugar. The sugar serves as a short-term energy booster but plunges the body into a lull within a couple of hours. I wish it weren't true but unfortunately, these treats stick to your buns and middle. If you're brave, go here to find out how bad your favorite drink is.
Coffee Creamer. Use skim milk. In addition to having less fat, skim milk has the ideal Zone ratio of fat, carbs, and protein, 10%-20%-30%. More about this ratio in the next post.
Butter. Use a nonstick spray like Pam for cooking. It has no fat, zero calories, and keeps food from sticking to the pan. As a condiment, you’re better off eliminating butter altogether. It's chock full of saturated fat and it's easy to exceed your daily fat intake with just a few pats. In addition, butter is largely used to flavor bread which should be limited because digested bread is essentially sugar. Again, it's too easy to eat too much.
Bacon. Try turkey bacon instead. It's significantly lower in saturated fat. Admittedly, it doesn't taste as good, but your arteries will thank you if consume bacon on a regular basis. An occasional splurge is ok though.
Hot Dogs. Switch to lite beef, turkey, or non-fat hot dogs, for the same reasons I stated with bacon. Just a small note, I wouldn't consider weekly cookouts splurging . . . If you attend cookouts only occasionally, a real hot dog or two won't hurt you.
Vegetable Oil. Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking. Instead of saturated fat, it has mono-saturated fat, which is the good kind of fat. The kind of fat the body and the brain actually need, albeit in small amounts per day. Besides, olive oil has a richer and more full-bodied taste. Substitute vegetable oil with applesauce when baking for a lower fat version.
Daiquiris, Pina Coladas, Mudslides. Drink wine, gin, or vodka mixed with diet tonic, soda, or other zero-calorie mixers. Four ounces of wine (1/2 cup) has 85 calories and zero fat. One ounce of vodka has 62 calories and zero fat and one once of gin has 73 calories and zero fat. Whereas, for example, one ounce of Bailey’s Irish Cream has 90 calories and 4 grams of fat. When added to coffee liquor, coconut milk, chocolate syrup, etc., you’re packing on a meal’s worth of calories and fat.
Fried Food. Bake, broil, or grill meats instead, for the same reasons listed above for butter, hot dogs, and vegetable oil.
Ice Cream. Forget Ben & Jerry’s. Opt for Edy’s or Breyer’s double-churned ice cream instead. The ice cream is made with a different process that miraculously retains taste and has far less calories and fat. Next time you go the grocery store, check out the labels. Trust me, I love ice cream and I’m really picky about the quality! As long as your local grocer carriers a wide variety of flavors from Edy's or Breyer's, this is a painless swap.
Bagels. Switch to whole wheat English Muffins, Weight Watcher’s Bread, or some other lite whole wheat or multi-grain bread. You'll not only get fiber but also a little protein and less sugar carbs.
Breakfast Cereals. Enjoy fruit, (lite whole-wheat) toast, oatmeal, and a multi-vitamin instead. Cereal has an unproportionately high amount of refined sugar and little or no protein. The real kicker with breakfast cereals though is the serving size. See what I mean by clicking here. Fruit, whole-grain (lite) bread with peanut butter, or eggs are more filling than one serving size of breakfast cereal. But, if you just can’t give it up, use skim or soy milk, watch your portions and visit DrMirkin.com to consider choosing a healthier cereal.
Eliminating or at least reducing these from your diet will help you lose those few winter pounds without sacrificing taste, quality, or that satisfied feeling in your belly. Reducing your carb intake just a little bit will likely leave you feeling more energized and thus, pleased with yourself.
If you've done something like this before, what substitutions worked for you?
We use and abuse our feet and rarely think twice about it until they hurt. Shoes are the only layer between your feet and the ground. As such, they can positively or negatively affect the body’s alignment and ability to absorb force from movement. In a fit life, shoes are the bottom line.
This post addresses why properly fitting shoes are critical to a fit life, how to find the right pair, and what you should know before you shop. If you walk, run, and/or use exercise equipment, this post is for you. If you have chronic foot pain, this post is for you. If you spend a lot of time on your feet, this post is for you.
This post is not for you if your activities primarily involve side-to-side movement like in aerobics or sports such as: tennis, basketball, and football. Side-to-side movement requires lateral support that walking and running shoes do not provide. These activities require sport-specific shoes.
Pronation, supination, and neutral
Feet fall into three categories: those that pronate (roll inward on the arch or have a collapsed arch, a.k.a. flat feet), those that supinate (roll outward), and those that are neutral (they neither pronate nor supinate).
A foot’s natural tendency to roll inward or outward can initiate a chain of painful reactions that classically include toe, arch, knee, hip, and back pain. Shoes that exaggerate rolling (flip-flops, clogs, flats) can initiate or increase pain. I’d love to provide more information on this but this post isn’t the place. Instead, I recommend Running Injury-Free: How to Prevent, Treat and Recover from Dozens of Painful Problems by Joe Ellis. It’s my favorite resource for common walking and running injuries. Notice I mentioned walking. Don’t be discouraged by the use of ‘running’ in the title. The mechanics of walking and running are similar and the information in this book is just as useful for lunchtime walkers as it is for marathon runners. Now . . .
. . . back to pronation and supination! To borrow a line from James Dyson, shoes should work properly. They should compensate for the natural movement of your feet. So, if when walking or running, your feet roll inward, a properly fitting pair of shoes should either help prevent the rolling or minimize it as much as possible. Feet that don’t roll at all simply need cushioning, maybe a little support, to maintain the neutral position.
Why you need to be fitted
Hundreds of articles from reputable sources claim that a quick examination of your footprint will tell you whether your arches are high, normal, or flat and indicate whether you pronate or supinate. This is not exactly true. It’s true in the sense that yes, it’s easy to see if your feet are flat, neutral, or have a high arch. With this information, you can tell if you pronate or supinate while standing. What makes the claim false is the phrase while standing. It’s naïve to assume that a body in motion behaves the same as while still. Feet that are flat (pronate) while standing can be neutral when walking or running and vice versa. Feet with high arches while standing may pronate (roll inward) when walking or running. This is why getting fitted for the right pair of shoes is critical for a fit life, not to mention happy feet.
Where do I go?
You go to an expert. Someone who can evaluate the mechanics of your feet while you run or walk—either by observation or machine—and then fit you with the appropriate type of shoe. An expert will know what to look for and also be intimately familiar with the different types and brands of athletic shoes.
Avoid chain retail stores like Dicks Sports Goods and Footlocker where sales personnel tend to be transient, focused on store sales, and clueless about proper shoe fit. Also avoid places like Payless where customers pull shoes off the shelf because these stores purchase low-end athletic shoes. And, every company manufactures cheap—in quality, material, technology, and cost—athletic shoes.
So, find out where local runners go. Start asking around at local races or look in the yellow pages. Another place to start is a local, independently owned bicycle shop. Independent business owners tend to know one another and gladly recommend each other. One clue you may be in the right place is the posting of brochures for local and regional races. Then, hang out and observe the staff, or test them. They should be explaining shoe technology and fit and evaluating how customers naturally walk and run. Just as important, they should refuse to sell, or at least advise against purchasing, shoes that won’t fit properly.
Shop Armed with the Basics
When you go, go armed with the basics. Memorize the list below so you know what to be aware of when trying on shoes.
Heel
