Newsletter Archive
August 2007
IN THIS ISSUE
Hello
from Cor Clinic!
Summer is almost over and the kids are heading
back to school.
Now that you are back from vacation and preparing
for the upcoming school year, it would be a great
time to think about setting up a new diet and
exercise program. As always, we are here to help!
In this month's newsletter, we are presenting
a feature article submitted to us by Debra West,
a registered dietician who is well-versed on the
subjects of nutrition and health. Her article
deals with some common pitfalls that face most
Americans when trying to set up a diet to lose
weight.
If you would like to consult with Debra for some
nutritional guidance, she can be reached at 480-502-1633
or dlwestmsrd@aol.com.
In the research review this month, I look at
a recent article from the New England Journal
of Medicine on how your friends and family may
be making you fat! This article got a lot of media
buzz over the past few months. However, this study
is not all it's cracked up to be. I'll tell you
why!
In the Q&A, I go over setting up your weekly
training program and balancing between stressful
training and "not-so" stressful training.
We have just restructured our training program
packages, and we invite you to contact us if you
would like to learn more about these services.
Compared to area gyms and fitness facilities,
we offer the best rates around!
Finally, I have started up several group training
programs (2-4 people per group) which are extremely
affordable and very motivating (since you can
train with your friends or family). Call or visit
us for more information.
As always, I am offering a free assessment and
training session to all new fitness clients. All
you have to do is ask, and I'll pencil ya in.
Take advantage - not many things are free in this
world!
Yours in health,
Patrick Ward, Ms, CSCS, NASM-PES, CPT, USAW
Club Coach
FEATURE ARTICLE:
Dieting Failure
Dieting, cutting back and or food avoidance has
become common, accepted and normalized in our
society. At the same time, food and dieting obsession
has become a cultural norm. In 1980 the dieting
industry was a $10 billion dollar industry. In
1991 it was a $50 billion dollar industry and
it just keeps growing. This is surprising considering
that there are no other failed industries with
that type of financial remuneration. Yes, failed,
because as the dieting industry has continued
to grow we are becoming heavier as a nation. Why?
One of the reasons is that the more we try to
stray from what our bodies need and want the more
obsessed with food we become.
Most people blame themselves and their lack
of willpower for dieting failures. In reality
it has nothing to do with will power. Diet failure
is often attributed to the body responding to
hunger and the body's state of semi-starvation.
When calories are lowered too much the body's
metabolism decreases and cravings increase. No
center in your brain labeled "will power"
will overcome these cravings. So what does one
do to lose weight? The simple answer: eat a wide
variety of foods at a calorie level close to normal
for the weight you wish to be, with a wide assortment
of flavors and tastes (which will increase satiety)
and exercise.
Cutting out any one type of food or an entire
food group will only work against you. There are
no short cuts. As a nation if we are to cure out
obesity problem we will have to learn to eat normally
again, paying attention to our hunger and fullness
cues, taking time for meals, and eating more fresh
and natural foods.
The following is a brief synopsis of some popular
dieting theories and why they may do more harm
than good.
1. Low Carbohydrate Dieting: cutting out any
food groups means you are also deficient in the
nutrients that type of food provides. Cutting
out grains and fruits leaves you without the body's
major source of energy, which is carbohydrate
or its metabolite glucose. This can cause two
things to happen: a) it slows metabolism down
to conserve what energy it does have and b) it
breaks down lean body mass (muscle) to obtain
energy. The body cannot turn fat into glucose,
but it can convert LBM into glucose
2. Very High Lean Protein: excessive amounts
of protein increase the risk for both kidney stones
and bone demineralization, increasing osteoporosis
risk.
3. Very Low Calorie Dieting: forces the body
to conserve energy, slowing down metabolism. With
each successive dieting attempt the body gets
better at slowing metabolism. This will make it
easier to regain weight once the diet is over.
It can take as long as one year for metabolism
to return to normal, and at older ages it may
never normalize.
4. Small Frequent Meals: your body's metabolism
is no better when you eat six times daily versus
three times daily. Unfortunately most people are
not good at decreasing meal size and so they end
up eating three regular sized meals and three
snacks that are mini meals. Research shows that
individuals will innately adjust mealtime calories
and size from day to day. The majority of our
extra calories come from snacks and beverages,
not mealtimes.
Snacking without the presence of hunger is causing
expanding waistlines. For most of us who maintain
weight, snacks just take the edge off our hunger
and hold us to the next meal. Individuals who
prefer six small meals per day must learn early
satiety signals and stop eating when they hit
this point.
5. The one meal/day diet: if you put your body
into starvation mode 18-20 out of 24hrs. per day
then the results will be "storage" of
the food you do eat. BY storing (as body fat)
the food we eat our body can call on some of the
energy the next day. As energy levels run low
the body will begin to crave sugars. One large
meal per day can also raise after meal insulin
levels, which increases the rate of fat build
up in the body
Unfortunately there are no quick fixes. Weight
loss and maintenance requires the relearning of
skills lost to many: normal, healthy food choices,
a connection to our hunger and satiety signals
and exercise. There are no good or bad food choices
and all foods can fit into a moderate lifestyle.
In short, the anti-dieting approach works best.
Over a long period of time it will, with consistent
exercise produce lasting results and healthful
lifestyle changes.
RESEARCH REVIEW:
The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network
Over 32 Years
Christakis NA, Fowler JH.
N Engl J Med, 2007;357:370-9.
The New England Journal of Medicine recently
published a study looking at the relationship
between obesity and the friends you hang out with.
The basic premise of the study is that if your
friends are fat, there is a good chance that you
will be fat also. Interesting!The New England
Journal of Medicine recently published a study
looking at the relationship between obesity and
the friends you hang out with. The basic premise
of the study is that if your friends are fat,
there is a good chance that you will be fat also.
Interesting!
So how did it work?
The researchers cleverly took information from
an older study entitled the Framingham Heart Study.
The Framingham Heart Study was a study of 5124
subjects, or "egos" which started in
1971 and continued until 2002. Every three years
between 1971 and 2002, the subjects were re-evaluated.
During these evaluations, information such as
address, first-order relatives (siblings, children,
parents, etc), changes to a subjects family (birth,
death, divorce, etc.), and information about at-least
one "close-friend" was gathered. Many
of the people participating in the Framingham
Heart Study were friends or relatives of each
other ("alters"). Because of this, the
researchers were able to gather information on
12,067 living "egos" and "alters"
over a 32 year period! This allowed the researchers
to analyze trends and patterns between those who
had become obese during this time.
What did they find?
- If a subject ("ego") stated that
an alter (someone the subject has contact with)
was a friend of theirs, that ego had a 57% chance
of also becoming obese. However, these findings
were dependant on the subject. If the friends
were mutual friends and the alter became obese,
there was a 171% chance the ego would become
obese as well. But, there was no statistical
findings if the friendship was perceived by
the alter and not the ego.
- If the friendship was a same sex friendship,
there was a greater chance of one of the friends
becoming obese if the other did. However, if
the friendship was an opposite sex friendship,
there was no significant association.
- With adult sibling pairs, there was a 40%
chance that one sibling would become obese if
the other became obese. This pattern appeared
to be more prevalent in same sex siblings. If
the siblings were opposite sex, there was less
of a chance that one would become obese if the
other did.
- In married couples, there was a 37% chance
that one would become obese if their spouse
became obese.
- There appeared to be no increase in the chance
of obesity if your neighbor becomes obese.
Conclusions
These and some of the other findings in the study,
led researchers to conclude that obesity has a
strong linkage to social networks; however, this
linkage appears to be relationship specific.
My thoughts
This was kind of an odd study. While I don't disagree
with that fact that there may be a common bond
between the people you hang out with (friends),
grow up with (siblings) or live with (partners)
and obesity, I don't think that this is the "be
all, end all" study that the media has made
it out to be.
This study is more just a small piece to a very
large puzzle and is in fact a classic case of
the media creating a stir over something that
they absolutely have no clue about. Pick up any
newspaper or magazine or listen to the morning
news and just count how many feature pieces there
are on the "latest diet," the "best
workout," the "newest fat-loss drug,"
and the "main reason why Americans have become
so overweight." The media ate this study
up (no pun intended) and then ran with it to the
public, instilling the belief that if you have
a fat friend, you would be fat too!
This study dismisses the importance that genetics
and daily choices, with regard to exercise and
nutrition, play in how much weight a person will
gain. As well, some of the findings are very silly.
"If your friend is obese, there is a good
chance you will be obese too. But, only if your
friend is the same sex as you." So, if your
friend is of the opposite sex, then fear not,
you are saved! The study does not talk at all
about the types of lives these people led to get
them to their current level of physical fitness.
Instead, it avoids the fact that the choices you
make and your genetics ultimately determine your
how much weight you will gain and instead simply
states that, being friends with someone obese
will make you obese too (but not if they are of
the opposite sex).
Don't get me wrong, I do believe that your social
network could have an impact on the choices that
you make. If your spouse is obese and always buying
junk food and eating junk food, chances are you
may eventually fall into the same vicious cycle.
If you are not much of a drinker, but you hang
around with a group of friend that go out on the
weekends and consume high amounts of alcohol,
chances are you will get swept into that lifestyle.
But it doesn't have to be that way! We all are
able to make our own choices which can either
positively or negatively affect our overall health
and body weight.
The take-home message here is that you need
to be in control of you. Just because there's
cake and ice cream at work everyday to celebrate
someone's birthday, does not mean that you have
to eat cake and ice cream every day (or even every
week for that matter). Make healthy choices and
you will lead a healthy life. Even if your genetics
are not the best in terms of maintaining that
lean physique you desire, you have to do the best
you can. Simply giving up does you no good in
the long run; always strive to be the healthiest
you can be.
MONTHLY Q&A:
Q: I never know how much to
work out each week. People always say that more
is better. How can I be sure that I am training
enough to reach my goals, but not to much that
I run the risk of getting injured?
A: One of the biggest problems
that people have is writting their own program.
Honestly, the hardest person to write a training
program is yourself (believe me!). A very smart
strength and conditioning coach once said, "If
you have yourself as your coach, you have a very
bad coach." It's true. It is very hard to
know what we need to be doing and to make sure
that we aren't over doing it.
There is really no clear cut answer on how much
you should be training every week. A lot of it
depends on what you are currently doing and what
you were doing before. Training age (the number
of years you have been exercising) and current
level of fitness come into play, as does nutrition,
sleep and recovery (if we aren't recovering, we
aren't growing!).
If I had to make it overly simple, I would lay
out my week and set aside certain days (depending
on your schedule) were you have the most time
to do your "stressful workouts." These
could be resistance training or hard interval
work (both of these have been covered in past
newsletters, so feel free to review them on our
website to get ideas of what this entails).
I tell people that the absolute minimum resistance
training they should be doing each week is 2x's
a week (total body workouts). Add to that one
hard cardio interval session and we have 3 stressful
workouts in a week.
If I had to place it on a hypothetical time line,
it would look like this:
Monday: total body resistance training
Tuesday:
Wednesday:Interval cardio (intense)
Thursday:
Friday: total body resistance training
Saturday:
Sunday: completely off
Now, all we have to do from there is fill in
the blanks.
Because the three workouts up there are considered
"stressful" we always leave a day between
them. On the days inbetween these workouts, we
can do a less stressful workout "sometimes
called active rest. Not only will these less stressful
workouts give out bodies a break between hard
training, but they will also help us recover in
between the hard workouts by helping to buffer
waste biproducts which have accumulated during
our hard training session the day before and help
to deliver nutrients to the cells to aid in both
cellular repair and energy uptake (both which
have been compromised during the hard workout).
An example of a less stressful workout might
be some cardio on the bike, treadmill or elliptical
at a pace which is 6 out of 10 rate of precived
exertion (RPE). RPE is basically a gage of how
hard we feel that we are working. 10 would be
pushing ourselves all the way to the edge and
1 would be no work at all. A 6 would be considered
moderate and would be perfect for our less stressful
workout. So now our week may look like this:
Monday: total body resistance training
Tuesday: Less stress full cardio (recovery training)
Wednesday:Interval cardio (intense)
Thursday: Less stress full cardio (recovery training)
Friday: total body resistance training
Saturday: Less stress full cardio (recovery training)
Sunday: completely off
Obviously this is a very simplifed version and
there are a lot of ways that we could go about
this. It would be beyond the scope of this article
to talk about the training possibilities that
we could set up for the week. However, I hope
this gives you a little bit of insight into better
planning your exercise program.
Good luck!
Do you have a question you'd like to see
answered in next month's Q&A column? Email
your question to pward@corlcinic.com |
