Choose to Live Well!

What would you like to learn about on this blog? Submit your fitness, nutrition or weight loss questions to: PremierPhysique@gmail.com

Friday, December 10, 2010

"But I walk every day!"

One of the biggest deterrents for many when it comes to taking a big step forward towards a healthy weight goal is the failure of their past attempts. Sure we can blame that on lack of motivation or commitment, and sometimes that’s the case. But I also think there are large gaps of knowledge missing for the average person when it comes to HOW to lose weight. People have vastly oversimplified a complex problem into “eat less exercise more.”

A big misconception out there is that daily exercise will lead to weight loss. Daily exercise of moderate intensity leads to weight MAINTENANCE. Multiple times I’ve heard expressed “But I walk every day! And I haven’t lost a pound.” I typically respond with “So your weight has stayed the same? That’s great!”

Congratulations are definitely in order. The average American gains 5 pounds a year! In order to achieve weight loss, we need to accept this basic fact: it takes WORK to MAINTAIN one’s weight in our modern technologically assisted lifestyles. People are so focused on their desire to lose, that they are unaware that they are actually gaining.

The bottom line is that weight LOSS is not just work. It’s HARD work. It may just be the hardest thing you will ever do. In fact, I believe it has to be one of a person’s top priorities or it will never happen. Let me clarify that it CAN be easy – a fad diet or starvation, but we all know how quickly those pounds pile back on. Weight loss that comes off and stays off… that deserves a medal of honor. 95% of all weight lost is regained (and more!) Stay tuned to learn practical tips on how not to be another statistic.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Trim your Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is full of challenges for the health-conscious among us. What can we do to fight back against the "normal" weight gain of 1-2 pounds in one day?

Here are my top 5 tips for a healthier holiday:

1. Go for a run in the morning.
...Or any form of exercise, really! Cardiovascular exercise helps to suppress the appetite for most people. Just don't buy into that little voice when you're done telling you you deserve an extra piece of pie.

2. Get all the food set up on the counter for serving, not the table. It is easier to think twice about an extra serving when the food is out of easy reach.

3. Start your meal with a full glass of water. Water suppresses the appetite and increases satiety. Better yet, try this at every meal!

4. Dawdle. Take small bites. Take your time and enjoy each and every morsel. Most Americans chew 5-6 times a bite when it should be 15! Put your fork down between bites and focus on the conversation, and your friends and family around you more than the food.

5. Stay the course. One hard day doesn't minimize the positive effects of your previous week's efforts. Get right back on track Friday... why not pack a lunch with fresh veggies before you head out to shop?! No need to add one more line to wait in Friday if you can skip the drive-thru.

Monday, November 1, 2010

$40 billion

$40 billion...

This is the amount Americans are currently spending every year on their efforts to lose weight. Is it working? Well no. We are fatter than ever. We try time after time, jumping on the latest fad diet or pill or exercise machine. Let’s take a look at some of the craziest diets in history:

1820 – the vinegar diet (side effects include vomiting and diarrhea – yep, weight loss!)

1830- Graham’s Cracker Diet –eat crackers and bread, they won’t make you promiscuous

1857 - Zander Rooms – fat massagers

1903 – Chew and Spit it Out

1920s – the grapefruit and coffee diet

1925 – the cigarette diet (they were allowed to advertise the appetite-suppressing benefits)

1930s – slimming soap (hand soap that “firms, tones and de-fats”)

1935 – Dinitrophenol – a weed killer that mysteriously caused factory workers to lose weight…so 100,000 dieters consumed before discovering it was causing blindness and death

1954 – the Tapeworm Diet

1964 – The Drinking Man’s Diet – you can drink gin and vodka, just don’t eat carbs

1970s – the “last chance” diet – consumers drank Prolinn, a juice made of
slaughterhouse byproducts. And then they died.

1979 -The Martinis and Whipped Cream Diet

1970s - The Sleeping Beauty Diet – just go to bed for a week (Elvis)

1980 - Breatharian Diet – who needs food when there’s yoga

2000 - Vision Dieter Glasses – food is less appealing

2000 - Cotton ball diet

This isn’t just history folks. We still have electronic ab belts, the Lemonade Diet, The Jello Diet, The BananaSlim diet. “No pills – just bananas”… That is just bananas. Is there a better way? Stay tuned!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sleep to Lose Weight?

When you are determining your plan to avoid those extra holiday pounds this year, is adequate sleep in the picture? There have been several interesting studies in recent years showing increased incidence of obesity in sleep-deficient populations. Some of the suspected reasons for this are:

Tendency towards overeating from being awake more hours and also being awake late at night

Lesser production of appetite suppressing hormones that are produced during sleep

Less recovery and repair of body tissues

The correlation between less sleep and higher stress levels (since we know stress inhibits fat-burning by increasing cortisol production)

Less daytime physical energy leading to lower physical activity levels

Some of the more recent studies done happened to target abdominal fat, younger adults and minority populations, showing similar results as past research, such as: Participants who slept less than 5 hours a night experienced a 32% increase in abdominal fat over 5 years.

But before you think that gives you a license to sleep in… the same study showed that those who averaged more than 8 hours of sleep increased by 22%. Well, all I know is those people must not have children! And I suppose you do really limit your physical activity calories when you are in bed all day.

So this holiday season, since we already know sugar and alcohol calories will directly increase the belly fat, plan enough space in your celebration schedule for some rest.

Sources:

Hairston, K.G., et al (2010) Sleep Duration and Five-Year Abdominal Fat Accumulation in a Minority Cohort: The IRAS Family Study. Sleep. 33(03): 289-295.
Amy Norton. (2010) Sleep habits linked to fat gain in younger adults. Reuters Health. March 1st.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Welcome!

I want to extend a special welcome to patients of Ploeger Chiropractic. This blog is for you! Your decision to seek regular chiropractic care for your family shows you value health and wellness as a top priority in your life. You know that without your health, you really have nothing!

This is a place where I will be addressing common questions that come up about fitness, nutrition, and weight loss. I would especially love to answer your specific questions to help you along on your journey towards health. Please submit them at any time to PremierPhysique@gmail.com.

And now a little about me:

I am the owner of Premier Physique, LLC in Forest Lake, MN, where I specialize in offer customized fitness and nutrition services for both individual clients and group settings. I am nationally certified through the American Council on Exercise as both a Personal Trainer and a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. I am also a Certified Nutrition Specialist through the American Academy of Sports Dieticians and Nutritionists. Additionally I am a certified Group Fitness Instructor (YMCA), BodyPump instructor (Les Mills), Golf Conditioning Specialist (GMP), and stay current in CPR/AED through the Red Cross. I have a B.S. in Kinesiology, emphasis fitness/wellness, from the University of Minnesota, and numerous continuing education credits in nutrition, supplements, weight loss, bodybuilding, health counseling, and more.

I began Premier Physique in 2001 as a way to independently pursue my passion for fitness and helping others. In 2007 I began offering group fitness classes for moms. After 3 babies in 4 years, how else was I going to get my workout in?! "Moms On The Run" was born and is now rapidly expanding in the Twin Cities Metro. It has been incredibly rewarding to help so many other women in this stage of life get back into shape, make lifelong friends and workout buddies, and achieve feelings of accomplishment from their success.

I look forward to helping you accomplish your health and fitness goals as well!