Move Your Body

Research suggests that keeping a food diary can lead to successful weight loss.  A weight loss study published in last year’s August edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine included 1,685 overweight or obese U.S. adults aged 25 and older.  Participants were encouraged to eat a healthy diet, exercise and keep a food diary.  Those that wrote down everything they ate for six days or more a week lost twice as much weight as those who wrote only one or two days a week.

Why do food diaries work?  Well, writing down everything you eat and drink can be eye-opening.  You might not realize how much you’re eating in a day, or how often you snack on goodies your co-workers bring to the office.   Even if you don’t consider yourself a person who overeats, you may not realize how one snack can throw off your calorie intake for the day. A food diary makes you aware of where those extra calories are coming from – whether it be snacking, or just taking in more calories than you realized at a particular meal.  Keeping a consistent food diary makes you accountable to your eating habits and helps you actually SEE where you can make improvements.

We have personally used a food diary in the past, at the suggestion of the American Heart Association’s No Fad Diet, and found that it was key to eventually achieving weight loss goals.  I had no idea how many times I was snacking during the day, or that Chinese food for dinner, if not eaten in the correct portion sizes, could be killer!

Even if you are not necessarily looking to lose weight, a food diary may still be an interesting experience.  You may find that you are not getting enough protein, fruits or veggies during the day, for example.  It can be a good way just to start eating healthier.

So how do you start keeping a food diary?  Here are some helpful tips from WebMd, as well as some of our own:

Write as you go:  Don’t wait until the end of the day to record your food – or you’ll never remember everything you ate.

Pay attention to portion sizes:  Try practicing measuring your portion sizes at home using measuring cups, scales, etc.  If you don’t have access to those things (while eating at work or out, for example), use this handy chart about estimating portion sizes.

Be specific! Be sure to add any condiments, for example, mustard or mayo,  the type of bread you’re using on your sandwich or even the veggies and dressing on your salad.  Also, if you are a coffee drinker, don’t forget to count the calories from cream and/or sugar.

Don’t forget water.  Water intake is VERY important.  Be sure to track everything you drink.  You should drink eight 8 oz glasses of water a day, and even more if you’re exercising a lot.

Use the format that works for you:  Scribble your food diary in a notebook (if you are an organized scribbler), on some scrap paper, type it into your computer or, if you have an iPhone, you can use a cool app to track your food.  You really don’t need anything fancy to keep track of your food, though.  Just make sure you are recording what you ate and how much of it.

Don’t beat yourself up! The food diary exercise is not supposed to make you feel badly about what you are eating.  You are taking the first steps toward building a healthy lifestyle.  So you find out that you eat a bag of M&Ms during your stressful Monday morning meeting.  Don’t be too hard on yourself.  You are now becoming more conscious of your habits and can begin to make choices to change them for the better.

If you’re still not convinced, here’s a few more reasons to keep a food diary, from dietblog.

Earlier this month we caught a cool fitness event here in Chicago – SELF magazine’s, “workout in the park.” There were three stops on the workout in the park tour – San Diego, New York City and Chicago.  Unfortunately I think that the Chicago stop was the last one on the tour – but check back often to see if you might be able to catch an event like this in your area.

The event was held in Grant Park, and thousands of people attended.  The Biggest Loser’s Jillian Michaels was there to promote her new book, Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!

Jillian Michaels signing autographs

Jillian said a few words at the beginning of the event, and the rest of the time was open to check out and sample new fitness, health and beauty products.  There were also a number of actual fitness classes being held in the middle of the park, and thousands of people participated!

Workout in the park fitness class

We checked out a new (or new to us) fitness class called “rebounding” or “urban rebounding.”  Each person has their own personal trampoline, and you basically jump, run and do various arm movements  on your trampoline during the workout.  People hail rebounding as “easy on the joints,” and a “great core workout.”  We haven’t personally tried it, but everyone at the workout in the park seemed to be enjoying themselves.  A number of gyms offer these classes, so perhaps it’s something you can inquire about if you are interested.  If you’ve taken a rebounding class, please let us know – we’d love to hear thoughts.

Rebounding fitness class

Running in old or worn out shoes can lead to an increase in running injuries.  Worn out running shoes lose stability, support and shock absorption, causing a lot of stress on the feet and legs.  Over time, that stress can lead to an overuse injury like shin splints, arch pain or even a stress fracture.  A simple prevention would be replacing running shoes as soon as they wear out.

It is recommended that you replace running shoes between 350-550 miles (or about every 3-4 months) depending on your running style, body weight, and the surface on which you run.

Here are some helpful tips from Sierra Trading Post when purchasing new running shoes:

Rotate Shoes – A lot of runners choose to rotate a couple running shoes at the same time, even if they’re the same make and model.  This helps to avoid irritation and excessive wearing in any particular area.

Don’t judge a shoe by it’s cover – Never choose a pair of running shoes by looks alone.  You won’t care what color they are if or when your feet start hurting.

Go mesh – Mesh breathes well and provides necessary ventilation.  Mesh also helps prevent odor!!

Socks Matter – Moisture-wicking and thermo-regulating performance socks are best for running.  Cotton socks can cause blisters because they don’t breathe well OR effectively remove moisture.

Invest in Quality – A trip to the doctor or physical therapist will end up costing you more (in money and discomfort) that you might have saved had you bought a quality running shoe.  Put your trust in a proven brand name.

Click here for more in-depth reading about determining what types of running shoes are best for you, courtesy of Sierra Trading Post.

Lie flat on your back with your fingers behind the ears.  Bring one knee in towards the chest and the other leg out straight, hovering over the ground.  Lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck, remembering to keep your eyes up and avoid tucking your chin in.   Start the exercise just like a normal crunch by lifting your shoulders off the ground and twist side to side (right elbow to left knee then left elbow to right knee).  Continue alternating sides in a ‘pedaling’ motion for 16-20 reps, 3 sets.

If the twisting motion is too challenging at first, start by doing a half bicycle crunch.  Do 10-12 reps with your right hand behind the head crunching up to the left knee, then switch to the other side.  Once you’ve mastered the half bicycle crunch, move on to the alternating bicycle crunch.

On Tuesday night, Helen claimed the Season 8 title of “The Biggest Loser.”  Helen quietly and steadily won of this competition, as no one really saw her as a threat throughout the game.  She hung on, worked hard and ended up beating Mike and Tara (the two contestants we all thought would win for sure) for the highest percentage of weight loss.

Helen is 48 years old and started the competition at a weight of 257.  She lost 54.47% of her body weight in the 19 week competition, finally getting down to a final weight of 117 pounds!  Helen was rewarded with the $250,000 grand prize, as well as the sweet feeling of victory knowing she wiped out people half her age. 

There is always an “at-home” winner of the Biggest Loser.  The players that were voted off during the season have a chance to win a $100,000 prize for losing the most weight at home.  Jerry, a 63 year old guy with a starting weight of around 370 pounds, won this year.   He lost 177 pounds and looks incredible.  Not to mention he’s seen huge positive changes in his health. 

It is never too late to lose weight and make a change.  Sure, the Biggest Loser contestants are living and breathing weight loss on a daily basis, and that will never be realistic for most people.  But there is something to be said about using the tired excuse in life that “I’m too old” to make a change. 

If you are interested in checking out past Biggest Losers and where they are today with their weight loss goals, check this out. 

The Plank is one of the best and most effective abdominal exercises you can do, as long as it is performed correctly.  To get started, lie face down resting your forearms flat on the floor.  While lifting yourself off the floor, raise up onto your toes and place your weight onto the forearms.  Your elbows should be bent 90 degrees and placed directly underneath your shoulders.  Your back should be flat, in a straight line (like a table) from head to heels.

Modification:  If you don’t have the core strength yet to do a regular plank, you can build up to it by doing a bent-knee plank.

Contract (squeeze) your abdominals and breathe.  Do not hold your breath.  You can hold the plank anywhere from 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.

A friend recently told us that we should write about “running skirts.”  She heard about them and saw someone in the neighborhood wearing one while running.  I began hearing more and more people talk about them,  and I even saw someone running in a skirt today!

You can run a marathon. And you can do it in a skirt.

Having little exposure to these “running skirts,” I decided to do a little research for you.  Apparently, the “sport skirt” or “running skirt” is not new.  It’s been around for about 4 or 5 years, and from what I could find, it was introduced by a woman named Nicole DeBloom.  DeBloom is a fierce athlete who has competed in countless events – even winning an IronMan competition!  In 2005 DeBloom founded SkirtSports Inc., a fitness-skirt specialty company that features pink-based fitness skirts, designed by a female athlete, for female athletes.  The line was founded on the idea that women should never have to sacrifice femininity for performance in their workout clothes.

The skirts are designed to be worn during a workout, during marathons, triathlons, and even post-workout.  Retailers also offer  sport skirts for kids – especially for little girls who like to hang upside down on monkey bars.

SkirtSports offers skirts with patterns, solids and other apparel like sports bras, hoodies and more.  Be warned – some of these skirts are SHORT.  But hey, why not turn a few heads while you are leaving everyone in your dust?  Another great thing about them is that they seem to come in a wide range of sizes – on SkirtSports you can get anything from an XS to an XXL.  Great for women of all sizes and shapes.  At RunningSkirts.com, you can even get maternity fitness skirts!

You can find running skirts on the sites mentioned above, or at most retailers that sell sports apparel.  On Nike.com, the running skirt will cost you about $60.  This seems to be in line with what I’m seeing on other specialty websites.  On RunningSkirts.com, you can get one for $48. Amazon also has a number of less expensive running skirts.

I’ve never tried a running skirt, and I’m not sure that I would.  I like to keep most of my bottom covered while I’m working out, thank you very much.  But I can see the appeal – they look lightweight, comfortable, and there is a definite sexiness factor.  I’d love to hear people’s opinions.  Have you worn one?  Would you?  Do you recommend them?

I have been having a heck of a time trying to get to sleep lately. I’m not sure what the issue is, but once I get into bed, I toss and turn. No matter how tired I am (and believe me, I am tired!), I cannot seem to fall asleep. I am big into working out and exercising, and in my not-so-scientific studies I find that when I exercise during the day, I have an easier time falling asleep that night.

Getting in a workout can help you sleep better at night

I have read a lot about sleep and things that affect sleeping habits, and believe it or not, exercise is one of them. There are many different theories about the correlation between sleep and working out, and there are differing opinions on the time of day a person should exercise in order to see the most positive effects on his or her sleeping patterns.

I found this short video that gives a little insight into how and when exercise can help you get a better night’s sleep. You can check it out here. (You may have to watch a 30 second ad, first.) Bottom line is, we cannot underestimate the importance of sleep to our overall health. And if you are having a hard time trying to catch those z’s, exercise just might be your solution.

[Article courtesy of allrecipes.com and Reader's Digest: Cut Your Cholesterol.]

Eliminating those calories (as well as burning more through exercise) doesn’t have to be painful. Starvation and deprivation diets simply don’t work. Instead, the little things are what matter. Here are seven ideas to get you started:

1. Eat breakfast.

A study published in the February 2002 journal Obesity Research found that eating breakfast was a key behavior among people who averaged a 60-pound weight loss and kept it off an average of six years. Participants told researchers that skipping breakfast made them so hungry that they overate during other meals and snacked on unhealthy, high-calorie foods.

2. Measure that cereal.

The average serving of cereal is 1 cup. Yet most adults pour out at least twice that.

3. Scoop and save.

Every now and then someone comes up with such a cool kitchen utensil that you just have to rush right out and buy it. That’s the Lê Scoop. Its function: to scoop out the inside dough from a bagel, leaving you with the outer crust (and, of course, less fat and fewer calories). Fill the inside with nonfat cottage cheese sprinkled with ground flaxseeds for an easy, low-fat, low-calorie breakfast.

4. Buy the smaller size.

The larger the portion in front of you, the more you’ll eat. It’s a proven fact. When researchers sent 79 parents home with a video and either 1- or 2-pound bags of M&Ms along with either a medium or jumbo size tub of popcorn for each family member, they ate more M&M’s from the 2-pound bag than the 1-pound bag, and about half a tub of popcorn, regardless of the tub size.

5. Make smart switches.

See how much you can save by switching from high-fat, high-calorie indulgences to lower-fat, lower-calorie options. Just by making the following substitutions, you could lose 25 pounds a year:

6. Skip the soda.

If you drink non-diet soda, you can cut 160 calories (per 16 ounces) out of your day just by switching to diet soda. Better yet, drink green tea or water flavored with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

7. Start with soup.

Studies show that people who start a meal with soup–especially broth-based soup–end up eating fewer calories by the end of the day without feeling hungrier.

Source: Allrecipes.com, From Reader’s Digest Cut Your Cholesterol.

According to Real Simple, May is the best time to buy athletic apparel and shoes. The magazine explains that discounts will be blooming as retailers look to get rid of last season’s inventory before the end of the summer. Discounts can be as much as 30-60%! Now’s the time to get out there and put together your hottest exercise outfit. While you’re at it – grab some new shoes to help you get ready for some summer morning runs!

Thanks to Lindsay Funston and Real Simple Magazine for the tip!