February 4, 2008 by admin.

There was an interesting article in theFeburary 2008 issue of Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter called “What does the latest research on weight mean to you?”  The article reviewed a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute that concluded ”overweight people are actually less likely to die from a wide range of causes.”  Note the word “overweight”.  To classify people as either normal weight, overweight, or obese, the BMI or Body Mass Index is most often used, a number that comes from inserting your height and weight into an equation.  (If you want to know your BMI, go to: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/multimedia.jhtml?multimediaId=/templatedata/fitness/multimedia/data/1129756657157.xml&ordersrc=msn2bodymassindex_cgy&cobrandId=ww5&s_kwcid=TC-935-1066821554-e-24318059.  In the left-hand column at the top is a BMI calculator.  The BMI for “Normal weight” is 18.5 to 2.5, “Overweight” is a BMI of 25 to 30 and “Obese” is a BMI greater than 30.

It seems that obesity is associated with an increased risk of cancers (colon, kidney, breast, esophagus and pancreas), yet a decreased risk for lung cancer.  But being overweight made one at a slightly reduced risk from most cancers.  The results are not an invitation to get fat.  One still needs to eat right, be active and not smoke.

The conclusions being drawn are that maybe the definitions of “ideal weight” need to be reconsidered.  And that maybe having some reserves on board (meaning a little extra weight) would be beneficial to withstand an adverse situation.  It also has been bandied about that BMI may not be the best measurement of risk.  Since the BMI doesn’t consider fat stores or fitness, two very important parameters in cardiovascular health, public health recommendations may have to focus more on waist-to-hip measurement, as well as fitness.  For a waist-to-hip measurement, divide the size of your waist by the size of your hips.  Anything over 0.85 for women and 0.9 for men is considered “apple-shaped” and a higher risk for heart disease.  Anything less means you’re shaped more like a “pear”.

The researchers of the study warn that the results aren’t meant to encourage people to eat whatever they want.  But most people know intuitively that what they’re eating is either good for them or not.  No one questions that fried food can’t be passed off as health food.  Be careful, though - just because manufacturers put words on the package that imply healthy doesn’t mean the food is healthy.  If you visit my website at www.advantagediets.com you can learn more about what makes for a healthy way of eating.

Posted in Fitness | 1 Comment »

April 2, 2007 by admin.

Your first response might be to say “yes” just because one would think that if you’ve been burning up calories through exercise, your body’s reaction is to demand food to replace what was burned off.  I challenge you to test the premise.  Try some intense exercise and see just how tempted you are to eat something right after you finish exercising.  If you’re not, then see when you actually start to experience hunger pangs.

Take me up on the challenge and let me know (email me at dtlinfo@advantagediets.com) just how hungry you truly are right after you’ve finished exercising.

You might want to try “Drawing the Line on Calories, Carbs, and Fat” (visit www.advantagediets.com) to keep track of how many calories you’re burning up with exercise.  Then see if, when you do eat, you eat as many calories as you burned.  Do keep in mind that your body is still burning calories long after your exercise session is over.  So if you burned 200 calories with exercise, over the next two hours, you might have burned another 50-100 calories while your body returns to its relaxed state.

Posted in Fitness | No Comments »

March 9, 2007 by admin.

I recently heard about another aspect to fitness.  While I suggest to my clients that they should pay attention to aerobic exercise to build stamina and heart strength, resistance exercises to build muscle, and flexibility exercises to, what else, build flexibility (and, in turn, decrease risk of falling), this new aspect is called functional fitness.  It’s mimicking activities of daily life to make particular movements stronger and more efficient.

Think of functional fitness in terms of improving balance and strengthening your core muscles (those in the abdomen).  One exercise would be to stand on a balance board and do bicep curls with dumbbells.  If you don’t feel steady, best to get someone to do it with you and act as spotter.  Instead of doing bicep curls, try standing on one foot and looking up at the ceiling.

Strengthening your core muscles is a good idea because you need those muscles to do everyday activities such as carrying groceries from the car to the house.  If your core is weak, you’ll be depending upon your back muscles, which isn’t a good idea.  Think about housework or picking up a child.  Almost everything you do should be using strong core muscles.  Even just sitting.  Right now you’re probably slouching in your chair as your read this and your core muscles are not being used.  So try straightening up, shoulders back and stomach pulled in.  See how much stronger they feel already!

Just remember that exercise is just part of the full health package.  Good nutrition and stress management are every bit as vital.  If you want more information about good nutrition, go to my website at www.advantagediets.com .  You might even want to check out my “connect-the-dots” approach to healthy eating using Drawing the Line on Calories, Carbs, and Fat (the food, exercise, and activity tracker - diary that lets you eat your favorite foods without guilt!).

Posted in Fitness | 1 Comment »