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Fitness and Weight: Michelle Obama on the War Path.I support the First Lady’s efforts to address the obesity epidemic in America, and hope she continues to preach healthy eating, physical activity and proper weight. By stressing healthy eating and physical activity, we will be a healthier people and weight should fall into line, or into scale. Weight loss needs to be gradual. The important thing is to be active every day, to walk when we can, to accept physical exercise and work as an opportunity, to make good choices at the grocery store and restaurant. And, bring back physical education, not just walking, jogging and calisthenics. There’s nothing wrong with learning how to play a sport or game. A pickup game of basketball or soccer, racquetball or badminton will boost the heart rate, calorie expenditure, and give great benefit. Then, too, some fat is healthy. We do not want to become anorexic, bulimic, or develop some other type of eating disorder. And, some fats are better than others. Visceral or deep abdominal fat is unhealthy because it is metabolically hyperactive, taking in and releasing fat at a rapid rate. This increases the amount of free fatty acids in the blood. In other words, if you have a lot of visceral fat, chances are that you have a higher level of fatty acids in your blood, increasing insulin levels that could be a precursor to Type II diabetes. What determines how much visceral fat you have? Primarily heredity, but also gender in that men have twice the bad body fat as women on average. Lifestyle, too, is a big factor. A lack of exercise is accompanied by a loss of the ability to burn fat. This along with eating too much refined sugar, alcohol, smoking, and stress and you have a recipe for disaster. So, exercise, increase your physical activity level by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Eat less refined sugar and more fiber. Don’t become obsessed with a little too much subcutaneous fat, say that you “pinch more than an inch” around your midsection or the back of your arm. Subcutaneous fat increases insulation on these cold winter days, and is an efficiently stored fat. Lipoprotein lipase helps to store this fat and give it up begrudgingly. So, are you overweight? By what measure? BMI is a rough indication. Average BMI (wt. in kg. over height in meters squared) is in the range of 18-25; overweight begins at 25 and obesity may be indicated if the BMI is greater than 30. Scales do not lie, if they have been calibrated, that is. But maybe you are all muscle, or have more muscle than fat. Percent body fat estimates from various devices have considerable variability. They, too, are a rough estimate, of greatest use not in giving a percent body fat but in showing changes when measured carefully under the same conditions. How is your weight distributed? A “pear” physique, in which hip girth is greater than waist girth, carries a lower heart disease risk than an “apple” physique, where waist girth is greater than hip girth. But, please do not obsess over your weight. Avoid extreme measures such as liposuction or bariatric surgery unless more than one reputable physician advises you that such is the best course of action. If your weight is perceived to be a problem, take it down one day at a time, gradually, by eating more fruits and vegetables and adopting a more physically active lifestyle. Remember, as Red Green says, “We’re all in this together.”
Exercise is an Effective Intervention for Low Back PainExercise and nonspecific low back pain: a literature review. There are lots of gimmicks on the market, most of them not very effective. Support belts, for example, do little aside from reminding their wearers to exercise precautions, to lift properly. But exercises of the proper type and amount, are effective. A good source of back exercises is the Mayo Clinic website. Click here for their slide show of back exercises. Weight Loss GoalsAccording to Janet Tietyen, Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist, Univeristy of Kentucky College of Agriculture, you can greatly improve your chances of success in a weight loss program by losing only 10 percent of your weight at a time. Your initial weight loss goal, for example, saying that you weight 200 pounds, would be to lose 20 pounds. Then work at maintaining that new, lighter weight for a few weeks or months. After you are accustomed to your new weight, then consider losing more. Research supports this stepwise approach to weight control. What's New in Exercise EquipmentWii computer systems are no longer new, although new applications appear monthly if not weekly. These computer games are a clever way of getting some folks, particularly children, to exercise without their realizing that they are doing so. A new device just now being imported into the States is the Itami Fitrainer. This is a type of MP3 player that responds to heart rate, your goals, and other individual data. While you're running or bicycling, for example, the Fitrainer tells you how you're doing and what you need to be doing. These are advertised on the home page of this website. I you're into weight lifting or body building, have you looked at the products I am selling from Monster Barbells? The Forearm Flex Bar and the AMP Universal bar will add some variety to your workouts and allow you to strive towards higher goals. Consumer Reports (February 2008) has reviewed treadmills, gyms, and exercise gadgets promoted on television. First, regarding exercise devices, abdominal exercisers are in demand now. CR rates the Ab Lounge XL as “not a lot more useful than a floor mat.” “The Bean,” says CR, is “comfortable but not very challenging,” and “results were similar to those with no equipment.” Conclusions were similar for two other devices that were tested, the Ab-Doer Extreme and the Red Exerciser DX. For one, it “engaged abs less effectively than no-equipment exercise,” and for the other, “engaged obliques at least as much as comparable floor moves but may not work abs as well.” CR is referring to rectus abdominis as the abs, and the external and internal obliques as obliques. Four muscles of the abdominal wall work together, so the testers are referring to where the electromyography recordings were greater, to where you might most feel the “burn.”
Other devices tested included the Leg Magic Professional, the Air Climber, the Urban Rebounder, Easy Shaper Ultimate, Fluidity Bar, Bun and Thigh Doer, The bottom line is, according to Fitpursuit.com, buy these gadgets if you need variation or motivation, or to meet a particular need. For example, rebound joggers, also called mini trampolines or trampoline joggers, are inexpensive and allow jogging in place with less joint impact. The Air climber and various elliptical machines, plus exercise bicycles of different types, could make the same claims.
What about treadmills? CR rated 33 elliptical machines and treadmills, and recommends criteria to consider before purchasing such a machine: available space, features, ergonomics (meaning how well it fits the buyer, in this sense), and special needs, such as lessening joint impact or providing balance. Nordic Track, which machines may be accessed through http://www.fitpursuit.com, ranked highest in “best value ellipticals”, budget model treadmills “fine for walking”, and second for treadmills for avid runners. For more information, I recommend the articles. Or, Email me with your questions and concerns. "Dr. Bob" at Robert@fitpursuit.com. Exchange your views here.Center for Science in the Public InterestRetail Watch: California calorie law alters chains' fare As California restaurants begin handing out state-mandated calorie counts, some menu favorites are undergoing extreme makeovers. Two chains with Sacramento-area stores have already announced menu changes, shifting to lower calorie-count options. Others could follow suit, in an effort to be more palatable to consumers while meeting California's new requirements, which apply to restaurant chains with more than 20 outlets. Romano's Macaroni Grill, with four locations in the region, has managed to squeeze a whopping 880 calories out of just one salad, as the chain's menu undergoes a massive revamp under new ownership. In June, Denny's rolled out its "Better for You" menu, which will be available at all 1,550 Denny's restaurants, including 400 in California. One of its signature items on that menu getting a calorie cut: The Grand Slam. Even though studies have indicated that menu-labeling will alter some diners' choices, the healthy changeover in restaurant offerings wasn't anticipated, said Sacramento County Public Health Officer Glennah Trochet. "If indeed they are adding lower-calorie options, it will give more variety and give people healthier options," she said. At Denny's, the traditional Grand Slam breakfast accounts for as much as a quarter of revenue for the value-oriented chain, according to CEO Nelson Marchioli. He said the company's dinner and late-night business is struggling but the breakfast crowd remains strong for the value-oriented chain. The new Grand Slam – two eggs, two sausages, two bacon slices and pancakes – is a build-your-own option with substitutions such as chicken instead of pork, egg whites, turkey bacon and whole wheat pancakes. For another 49 cents, add-ons such as yogurt are available. With the healthier options, the Grand Slam drops from 882 calories to 546, not to mention a 70 percent drop in fat grams. Other menu changes are coming in the fall. But traditionalists, fear not. The Moons Over My Hammy – 780 calories – is still on the Denny's menu. Starting this month, California required all chain restaurants with more than 20 stores to provide calorie information in brochures available to customers. Starting in 2010, the calorie counts must appear on menus or menu boards. According to health officials, the average American adult should only be eating 2,000 calories a day. The menu changes are in response to growing public interest, as much as to any government mandates, Marchioli said. "The industry is trying to find a common ground. We do believe strongly it's the right thing to do and we've worked to bring alternatives to the public," he said. At Macaroni Grill, the company's new CEO, who came on board after the chain was sold in December, has been working the past six months to boost same-store sales, primarily by retooling the menu. "We had a new vision from the beginning ... an Italian-Mediterranean vision that is fresh, simple and authentic," said CEO Brad Blum, who previously helped run Burger King and Olive Garden. The revamped menu already appears on Macaroni tables in California and is expected to roll out nationwide by the end of August, Blum said. Providing nutritional information is the "right thing to do," he said. The new CEO, who says he's overseeing the taste-testing himself, is primarily focused on boosting food quality. For example, the chain's mozzarella alla caprese salad was not usually made with "high-quality" tomatoes, he said, but now uses vine-ripened tomatoes. The dish also dropped 110 calories. The chain's scallops and spinach salad, formerly a 1,270-calorie offering, is now slimmed down to 390 calories. Blum won't disclose how, except to say the dish had more fat than was necessary. In spite of the salad's calorie reduction, consumers have "enjoyed it better than before," Blum said.
Swedish Calisthenics; A Good Warm-upHere are some warm-up exercises I used to use before physical education classes. They were modified from Astrand and take from 12 to 15 minutes to perform: 1. Skip or un in place for a minute. Resf for half a minute, then repeat for another minute. 2. Sit on the floor, knees bent and feet held down by your partner. Lie down and sit up again. Repeat up to 20 times. Round your back while sitting up and lowering. 3. Line on your stomach with a pillow under your hips. Lift your legs and trunk until both are off the floor. Your arms are at yuour sides. Keep your back flat. In fact, if you have a back problem, skip this one:). If not, repeat up to 20 times. 4. Stand with your feet apart. Do 20 to 30 shoudler rolls in an jpward-backward-downward-forward direction. 5. Stand with your feet apart. Do 20 to 30 arm swings across the front of your body as in exercise 4. 6. Stand on one leg, supporting yourself with one arm on a railing. Swing your free leg and arm forward and backward 20-25 times. Repeat with the other leg. 7. Stand with your feet apart, hands on hips, and slowly rotate your hips. Do 10 times in each direction. 8. Skip or jog in place for 30 seconds. 9. Get down on the floor and do up to 20 push-ups with the body straight. This may be done against a sofa or chair. 10. Run in place or skip for up to 5 minutes, slowly. Now do your work-out, whether it's a game of racuqetball or running a few miles. Remember to cool down by walking and stretching after your work- out. |
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