October 25, 2008
Can you lose weight with a broken foot?
Sure, it’s a ridiculous question but the truth is many people think that if they’re not losing weight, it’s because they’re not exercising enough. Toss in an injury that limits exercise or a lifestyle that makes a gym visit prohibitive and we’ve concocted a perfectly reasonable explanation for why weight loss has slowed or halted. I hear it all the time.
Truth is, it’s actually easier to reduce caloric intake through changing your habits than exercising. (I said easier people, not better… I’m a firm believer in the magic bullet of exercise.) Most research supports creating a 500 calorie a day deficit to lose one pound a week. For me, it would take about an hour of jogging to burn 500 calories. How quickly can I eat an extra 500 calories? Oh, you just watch me… a handful of candy corn there (140), a fourth of a basket of chips at El Dorado’s (210), the free sugar cookie at the grocery store (60), and the oh what the heck 2nd glass of wine at dinner (100) and I’m there. And then some. Calories are a sneaky thing. It’s easy to tack on an extra 500 cals through food and it takes a heckuva lot of time and sweat to burn off those 500 calories at the gym.
Should you exercise? You betcha. It’s going to expedite your weight loss, preserve your lean muscle tissue and do all sorts of amazing and wonderful things to your cellular insides. But if you can’t (or really reaaaaalllly don’t wanna), there’s no reason to think you don’t have an equal opportunity to shed pounds.
And contrary to many people’s beliefs (or maybe just what we’d like to believe), the reverse just ain’t true. If you’re sweating it out at the gym and telling yourself “I earned this” as you bite into that McGriddle, chances are you aren’t going to see the results you want. Unless you like seeing that same digital blue number week after week after week…..
Food For Thought: Check out the calories in a few of your favorite indulgences here. Then pop over to this calculator and see how long it would take you to burn that off through exercise. My personal fave? An hour of ironing earns me a on the rocks margarita. Toss me those wrinkly shirts, hubby!
October 17, 2008
I’m not a big TV watcher but there are 3 things my DVR is set to catch regularly: Oprah, Red Sox games and the Biggest Loser. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of the Biggest Loser. I am so inspired by the process of transformation that each contest goes through and the show’s multi-faceted approach to weight loss: exercise, nutrition and behavioral change. Almost every episode features a peek into someone’s emotional blue print, and with the help of Jillian, Bob or as featured last season – a clinical psychologist – the show helps demonstrate the weight loss is as much about our mental and emotional state as it is our physical state.
One of the things that has always bugged me about the Biggest Loser, however, is the big numbers that the contestants throw up each week. I know it’s a TV show and seeing someone lose a pound a week wouldn’t make for exciting ratings, but the numbers they put up have always sparked a great deal of conversation among my groups and clients as to what is realistic to expect for weight loss.
So, Tuesday night, while watching the black and blue team suffer through a 14 hour hike, I got out my calculator and did a little calorie math to see: just what is the story behind all those big numbers.
To start with, I’ll use the example of the women who generally lose less weight each week then the men.
Julie Hadden, a stay-at-home mom and runner up on Season 4, started the show at 218 lbs at 34 years old, 5 feet 2 inches. Her starting caloric needs would have been about 2,082 calories according to one of my
favorite calorie calculators. (I set it to use the Harris-Benedict equation.)
From what I gather from various references on the show, the contestants are given a calorie budget (woohoo!) based on their needs. Let’s say Julie was given a calorie budget of 1200-1400 calories/day, a pretty standard number for a female in her mid 30s. With changes in her nutrition alone, Julie would have had a 600-800 calorie deficit a day. Even without exercise, she would have averaged a pound of weight lost every four to six days.
Remember, it takes a deficit of 3,500 calories – achieved through nutrition or exercise – to lose one pound.
According to the
Biggest Loser Blog, the contestants work out for an average of four to six hours a day. (Whoa! Now here’s where we might argue the question of realistic expectations…. ) A 218 lb woman could
easily burn 2,000-3,000 calories with a combination of
cardio and resistance training for 4-6 hours. Right there, the contestants would create an average 0.5-1 lb/a day weight loss.
As their weight comes down, both the calories they burn during exercise and the difference between their caloric needs for maintenance and caloric needs for weight loss diminishes, thus slowing the rate of weight loss. However, lean body mass does require higher calories for basic metabolism than fat body mass, so they do experience a slight edge there with the high level of resistance training they endure.
So, is it realistic? Scientifically speaking, yes. The caloric deficits created through a typical 1200-1400 calorie diet and through 4-6 hours of exercise do translate into “big numbers” – contestants losing 5, 7, even 10 pounds in a week. Is it realistic as a far as lifestyle change goes? How likely is someone to devote nearly a quarter of their day to exercise? That, my friends, is a personal choice.
I personally don’t fault the Biggest Loser for creating unrealistic expectations about weight loss. I’ve never had the impression that they are trying to mislead the public about the intensity of physical activity that the participants endure and almost every episode includes information and references to proper nutrition. If anything, the Biggest Loser may be a source of inspiration and motivation to many people out there who may feel totally trapped in their bodies.
There’s no fooling yourself if you watch the show: the transformation process is grueling physically. But the impact of transforming one’s health is not limited to the physical results. The sense of self-confidence and empowerment that results transcends all aspects of one’s life. We can dismiss the Biggest Loser for fooling us each week by putting up big numbers or we can embrace them each week for living out big dreams. I, for one, am in the latter group.
Food for Thought: Who or what motivates you? Do you ever find yourself in the midst of “dreaming big” and interrupting yourself with the thought that “you could never do that”? For better or worse, reality TV is here to stay… but what we can learn from it is this: those are real people. They are no different from you and me, thought it may seem that they are doing the impossible. There may not be a $250,000 prize or a Larry King interview waiting for you, but who’s to stop YOU from putting up big numbers?
October 7, 2008
“I realized I needed to lose weight, but it was a shock when the doctor told me I was obese. I had no idea…”
Most people’s weight loss journey begins with a moment of realization – stepping on a scale and seeing a number they thought they’d never see, the one pair of pants that no longer fits, a startling diagnosis or in some cases, a run-in with a BMI chart with it’s undeniably objective categories: normal, overweight, obese.
So what’s the deal with this “body mass index?” Who decided what makes someone normal, overweight or obese and how seriously must we take our placement into each category?
To start with, let’s define what body mass index (or, BMI) is and is not. BMI is an individual’s weight divided by the square of their height. It is an exceptionally useful tool when looking at a large number of people to be able to categorize them into groups: underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese, but to be used individually it may require some extra tweaking.
First things first, what is your BMI? There are a number of great BMI calculators out there. I like this one. Use the standard measurements, pop in your height and weight and voila. To the left, you have the categories.
These categories are most useful when we’re classifying large populations. (And just to clarify, here I mean large as in many people not large as in people of generous proportions.)
There are, however, some limitations when we’re looking at BMI on a case by case basis. For example, let’s take my pretend client, Arnold S, a gentleman in his early 60s with a 40 year history of bodybuilding. Just a lil hobby of his. Arnold is 6’2” and steps on the scale at 235 pounds. Accordingly to our calculator, Arnie’s BMI is 30.2 Obese, by these standards. However, because Arnold could squash me with his forefingers, I better be quick to clarify that Arnold is a fair cry from obese. In fact, at his 235 lbs, he’s less than 8% body fat. Obese? I think most of us would argue against it.
Moral of the story: muscle can skew a BMI index. Because muscle weighs more than fat, a very lean, athletic individual may be classified unncessarily high on the BMI scale. On the flip side, you may appear normal weight and due to a low muscle tone, still be at high risk for health problems. The latter is a common predicament when using the BMI scale in aging populations, who are typically have lower muscle mass.
So, the BMI categories are not the whole picture. But, they are a good starting point. When classified into each of the categories, we can generalize the risk that someone in this category would have of certain comorbidities including heart disease, type II diabetes and sleep apnea. The table below shows the risk for each of these according to BMI.
To truly personalize BMI however, it is best combined with another measure: waist circumference (WC). Measuring WC provides a more accurate picture of the risks associated with your weight. When an individual’s BMI is between 25-34.9, a high waist circumference can indicate an increased risk for type II diabetes, high blood lipids, high blood pressure and heart disease according to the National Institute of Health.
Waist circumference is measured by placing a measuring tape around the abdomen so that it sits atop the upper hip bones. It should be snug, but not tight enough to squeeze. (You know, the way your pants feel after Thanksgiving dinner? Not that tight.)
Using BMI combined with your waist circumference can give us a more accurate picture of health risks. A high waist circumference is considered greater than 35” for a woman and 40” for a man. In the “overweight” category, this puts you at high risks for the aforementioned health conditions. If your BMI is between 30 and 39.9 this puts you at very high risk and above 40 is extremely high risk.
So, to return to our good friend Arnold – while he may have a BMI of 30.2, his waist is a slim and trim 34”. While our BMI index would have indicated that he’s overweight, the combined use of weight circumference to measure abdominal fat can assure Arnie that even the high stress of recent career change hasn’t necessarily put him at increased health risk.
Food for Thought: Weight loss is not just about getting into the pair of skinny pants you’ve been saving in your closet forever. (Let’s be honest – are they really even in style anymore?!) While some of our health is up to the powers that be, much of it can be influenced positively or negatively by what we carry on and in our frames. Know your numbers: if you’ve never taken a peek at your BMI, now’s the time to look. Then, get out the measuring tape and determine your waist circumference.
Would reducing your weight potentially lower your risk for numerous health conditions – heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure? Ask anyone you know who is managing one of these disease (or check in with yourself if you personally are): if you have the power to potentially influence your health for the better… what’s stopping you?
*BMI calculator, chart and health risks information source: National Institute of Health and Obesity Online (http://www.obesityonline.org/)
September 30, 2008
I was shy. I was one of those kids who turned the color of a radish whenever I raised my hand in class to talk. I actually did homework during study halls because I was too nervous to strike up a conversation with people I didn’t know.
In 4th grade, I desparately wanted to be on student council. But to get elected, you had to stand up in front of the classroom and make a speech. For the other candidates, this task appeared to be the most natural thing in the world. When I stood up to talk, I shook. I got clammy. My teeth chattered. The air turned 90 degrees and humid in an instant. To this day, I don’t know what I said. All I remember is that I lost – dreadfully. The teacher kept a tally on the chalkboard, and I had two votes. Since I voted for myself, I can only imagine that perhaps she gave me an extra tic mark so I wouldn’t feel quite so pitiful. Immediately after we raised our heads from the desk and I saw the tally, the embarassment overwhelmed me. I excused myself to the nurse’s office and somehow talked her into calling my mom to come pick me up.
This was my first experience with public speaking and it only went downhill from here for the next 13 years straight through grad school.
Yet as I write this today, I just finished leading two groups at WFU. I will do one more in about 20 minutes and then will pack up and head over to the YMCA, where I’ll lead another group after dinner. Over the last two years, I have led close to 275 classes and workshops. They have ranged from 3 people to 50 people. This is an astronomical number for someone’s who has nearly a decade of proven flight-or-fight responses to all incidents of public speaking, ranging from 60 minute thesis defenses to 30 second ice breaker introductions at book clubs.
To be honest, I am not entirely sure how this happened. But somewhere along the way it became easier and then at some point, completely comfortable. Because I so passionately love the message I am trying to share, today I would crawl up on a rooftop with a bullhorn if I had the opportunity. I truly believe one of the greatest barriers to weight management is the lack of education about the basic principles about weight loss and so the more groups I lead, the greater numbers I can reach with this message. My fear diminished when I chose to move forward when faced with the opportunity to do something I believed in.
Mind you, it didn’t disappear – it diminished. Last week I was a presenter for a conference for the Area Agency of Aging. This was the biggest group I had ever been in front of and involved a microphone and a podium and a whole bunch of people counting on me to provide their continuing education credits. Was I nervous? You bet. Clammy hands and humid room all over again. Each time I click on a power point, there’s still a little worry in the back of mind – “will they like what I have to say? will it be useful to them?” But with each click of the slide, my fear fades into the background as I grow energized with a feeling that this – being someone who shares the message of health education – is my greater purpose.
Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when she said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” For whatever reason, it is often the thing we fear the most that has the greatest reward. How many times have we fallen short of what we are divinely capable of because we choose inaction out of fear?
There is much to fear when it comes to attempting a lifestyle change as great as weight loss. What if it’s hard? What if I’m hungry all the time? What if I have to give up my favorite foods? What if it changes holidays for my family? Going out to eat with my friends? What if I lose weight and regain it? What if I fail?
Moving forward in the face of that fear is where you tap into something greater than yourself and that power is beyond measure. When you recall the moments in your life that give you the greatest feeling of pride and satisfaction, can you recall whether you had any hestitation about taking the steps towards that achievement?
Most of us will find, with reflection, that the most rewarding things we have done in our life required one gigantic leap of faith to get started followed by daily steps of faith to keep going.
There’s no guarantee that I won’t fall flat on my face in this next class. There’s no guarantee that my powerpoint projector won’t work and I’ll have to wing it. (It’s happened today.) There’s no guarantee that someone in my group won’t be vehemently and vocally opposed to what I have to say. (Has also happened.) There is no guarentee that someone won’t fall asleep. (Happens ALL the time.) Each day I stand up in front of a group, I take a leap of faith that what I have to say will empower, educate and delight someone.
And if it doesn’t, at least I can say that you will no longer find me in the nurse’s station.
Food For Thought: What one thing have you been putting off out of fear? What is the actual, worst case scenario that could happen? How likely is that to really happen? What are you missing out on by not taking action? I challenge you to try one thing tomorrow that scares you.
September 5, 2008
I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with a number. But you may be surprised to know that it is not the number that stares up at me in digital blue font each morning. No, despite that number being a part of my daily routine, that is not THE number. The number I am obsessed with is a calorie budget. And not just my calorie budget – in fact, my own calorie budget interests me the least. Maybe it’s because I’ve become so acquainted with it over the last 6 years it’s as familiar to me as my ATM pin. Other people’s calorie budgets I dare admit, excite me. I love calculating someone’s daily caloric needs and I handing over the four digit number with as much glee and reverence as if I am handing over the code to the holy grail. Surprisingly enough, the response is generally somewhat lackluster.
At first.
Because, whether or not they chose to humor me or they are just hopeful and willing to try anything, most people give it a try. Why not? They’ve tried eating burgers wrapped in “lettuce buns.” They’ve tried yellow cellophane wrapped bars that offer a delightfully balanced ratio of nutrients. They’ve plugged their nose and gulped down apple cider. They’ve tried all these and more, so why not see what a harmless little number has in store for them? The excitement on their face when using a calorie budget turns out to be not only effective, but not even that hard…. there’s no better reward for this girl. Another fan joins the Calorie Counting Club.
I truly believe that choosing what to eat each day without knowing your daily caloric needs is like taking out a mortgage without knowing your monthly salary. Sure, people do it. But it’s stupid. Can we all agree on that? Each of our bodies is hard-wired to need a certain amount of energy to go about our daily functions. Take it more than those energy needs and your jeans start feeling aweebitsnug *gasp*. Take in less and … voila! It’s not rocket science, but it is basic science. Calories in versus calories out is the foundation of weight management. We can talk another day about where those calories come from as far as you feeling your best (oh, you bet I can talk about that), but for today, let’s suffice it to say that simply knowing what you need is as important to the management of your weight as…. well, as nothing else. It is THE single most important factor. It’s the starting point.
And here’s the beauty of it all. It ain’t that hard to figure out. In fact, you can google your heart out and find plenty of calculators that will even do the math for you. I have now passed out 163 calculators teaching people how to calculate their caloric needs…. while I am not sure everyone gets as excited as their dear, sweet, overzealous coach (c’est moi), I daresay the successful ones are the ones who use it.
One man summed it nicely to me a few months ago. He said “Knowing this calculation is like knowing what goes on under the hood of your car. It’s not information you’re going to use everyday, but it can sure save you a headache when things start breaking down.” And just to toot his horn, he’s holding tight to a 41 pound weight loss.
I teach my clients to calculate budgets so they’re self-sustainable beyond their work with me. Let’s say a few years pass, life gets in the way, and oops, you hit the Rocky Road. (Literally and gastronomically.) Your weight has crept back up and you’re at a loss. You know what to do… eat less than what your body needs. So, do you have to call me up to find out what your body needs?
Nah. You know how. Just call me up to tell me you’re back on track. You’ve got my number, and now you’ve got yours.
Food For Thought: Get to it! Find out what your number is. This is a great calculator here and has a nice little blurb about how to use a calorie budget. But you can find any by googling “daily caloric needs.” Find one that takes into account your age, height, weight and gender. It will give your daily needs and remember, to lose weight you need to eat less than that. (Ideal is to subtract 250-500 calories from your maintenance budget to lose 1 lb-0.5 lb a week. Men will usually be in the 1600-1800 calories for weight loss, women in the 1200-1400 calories. It is recommended that no one consume less than 1100 calories per day.)
September 4, 2008
I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with a number. But you may be surprised to know that it is not the number that stares up at me in digital blue font each morning. No, despite that number being a part of my daily routine, that is not THE number. The number I am obsessed with is a calorie budget. And not just my calorie budget – in fact, my own calorie budget interests me the least. Maybe it’s because I’ve become so acquainted with it over the last 6 years it’s as familiar to me as my ATM pin. Other people’s calorie budgets I dare admit, excite me. I love calculating someone’s daily caloric needs and I handing over the four digit number with as much glee and reverence as if I am handing over the code to the holy grail. Surprisingly enough, the response is generally somewhat lackluster.
At first.
Because, whether or not they chose to humor me or they are just hopeful and willing to try anything, most people give it a try. Why not? They’ve tried eating burgers wrapped in “lettuce buns.” They’ve tried yellow cellophane wrapped bars that offer a delightfully balanced ratio of nutrients. They’ve plugged their nose and gulped down apple cider. They’ve tried all these and more, so why not see what a harmless little number has in store for them? The excitement on their face when using a calorie budget turns out to be not only effective, but not even that hard…. there’s no better reward for this girl. Another fan joins the Calorie Counting Club.
I truly believe that choosing what to eat each day without knowing your daily caloric needs is like taking out a mortgage without knowing your monthly salary. Sure, people do it. But it’s stupid. Can we all agree on that? Each of our bodies is hard-wired to need a certain amount of energy to go about our daily functions. Take it more than those energy needs and your jeans start feeling aweebitsnug *gasp*. Take in less and … voila! It’s not rocket science, but it is basic science. Calories in versus calories out is the foundation of weight management. We can talk another day about where those calories come from as far as you feeling your best (oh, you bet I can talk about that), but for today, let’s suffice it to say that simply knowing what you need is as important to the management of your weight as…. well, as nothing else. It is THE single most important factor. It’s the starting point.
And here’s the beauty of it all. It ain’t that hard to figure out. In fact, you can google your heart out and find plenty of calculators that will even do the math for you. I have now passed out 163 calculators teaching people how to calculate their caloric needs…. while I am not sure everyone gets as excited as their dear, sweet, overzealous coach (c’est moi), I daresay the successful ones are the ones who use it.
One man summed it nicely to me a few months ago. He said “Knowing this calculation is like knowing what goes on under the hood of your car. It’s not information you’re going to use everyday, but it can sure save you a headache when things start breaking down.” And just to toot his horn, he’s holding tight to a 41 pound weight loss.
I teach my clients to calculate budgets so they’re self-sustainable beyond their work with me. Let’s say a few years pass, life gets in the way, and oops, you hit the Rocky Road. (Literally and gastronomically.) Your weight has crept back up and you’re at a loss. You know what to do… eat less than what your body needs. So, do you have to call me up to find out what your body needs?
Nah. You know how. Just call me up to tell me you’re back on track. You’ve got my number, and now you’ve got yours.
Food For Thought: Get to it! Find out what your number is. This is a great calculator here and has a nice little blurb about how to use a calorie budget. But you can find any by googling “daily caloric needs.” Find one that takes into account your age, height, weight and gender. It will give your daily needs and remember, to lose weight you need to eat less than that. (Ideal is to subtract 250-500 calories from your maintenance budget to lose 1 lb-0.5 lb a week. Men will usually be in the 1600-1800 calories for weight loss, women in the 1200-1400 calories. It is recommended that no one consume less than 1100 calories per day.)
August 26, 2008
Years ago I came across one of those kitschy post-it note pads that declared “STRESSED SPELLED BACKWARDS IS DESSERTS!” and the adage has been stuck in my head ever since. However, there’s a deeper connection between stress and our favorite comfort foods that goes beyond a palindrome word game. The majority of my clients tell me that when they are stressed, they eat. There truly is a well trained emotional and physical balance between stress and the desire to plow through an entire carton’s of Edy’s Slow Churned. Under stress, your body pumps out cortisol as part of its natural “fight or flight” response to such threats. In chronic stress situations, however, the body no longer responds to the natural signals that tell it to shut down cortisol production. One of the jobs of cortisol is to replenish the energy that would have been used in our fight or flight response (say, to run away from that saber tooth tiger in our caveman days) and thus, hunger is spiked. Cortisol is also responsible for ushering all the excess energy being taken in through Edy’s, oreos and wheat thins and guide them straight to storage in the abdomen area. Helpful when you’ve just run 4 miles to get away from that saber tooth, but not so helpful when the source of your stress is ongoing and usually involves you being pinned to your desk chair, driving around like a chauffeur or vegging out in a near-coma in front of The Office reruns as you try to forget your office drama. Now we’ve got elevated hungry, cravings for quick energy (hello, sugar!), and quick and easy storage of that extra energy.
So, where does this leave us? Helpless to cream puff cravings when your boss is cracking the whip? Having to accept that the moment your daughter says “Mommy, there’s this boy…”, you’re destined to increase a pants size? Hardly! The good news is that while these physiological pathways do exist and can help relieve us of some of our “why can’t I just get my act together” guilt, there is a very strong psychological aspect of stress eating that we evolved humans can do something about. A strong part of this chain is the learned behavior. Under stress, your body responds as it has since its caveman days. We respond as we have since our childhood days – by using food as a comfort and an automatic response to these triggers. Do this enough times (say, the course of a few decades) and we’ve become the proverbial Pavlovian dogs to our pantries and freezers.
Want to free yourself of the response overall? For years I worked with clients (and myself) on finding “replacement activities” when it came to eating as a response to stress. While other activities – exercise, yoga, meditation, laughter, reading, hot baths, and even sex – can act to reduce stress (and consequently, diminish cortisol levels), like food they are still a balm to a sore. Crank that stress up high enough and it’s hard to remember that downward facing dog might be a better response than double chocolate moose tracks.
Then one day it occurred to me – why didn’t we go straight to the root of the problem? Eliminate or reduce the stress.
Sound too good to be true? “I can’t help but be stressed – my job brings it on!” “Being a parent means being stressed – there’s no way around it.” I got to thinking as I explored this route – which came first? Are the situations we humans are in inherently stressful, or are our perceptions of them driving the stress? Have you ever been sitting at work and felt like you wanted to leap out your chair, announce to the world at large that you quit and go find some other task – even one with less compensation – if only to avoid the stress of YOUR job?
I polled many women to ask them if they experienced stress at their job. You might not be surprised that the CEO of a fortune 500 company is stressed, but did you ever imagine the woman handing you over your skinny vanilla latte was experiencing her own woes? If you think escaping your life into someone else’s Louboutins is the answer, think again. The real impact comes when we start digging around at how we personally perceive the situations that are causing us stress.
Is it hard? A little bit.
Is it possible? You bet.
Is it worth it? Oh yes. You have no idea.
Food for thought: Choose one situation in your life that is causing you stress and identify your predominant thoughts around it. Challenge yourself to come up with as many different interpretations of the situation as you can, other than the one you’ve been carrying. Go crazy. Make yourself laugh. When you run out of ideas, choose an interpretation that generates a feeling you’d prefer to have – contentment, competence, empathy, even humor. It may be a small step, but all it takes is making the first one. Let me know how it goes!
*Giving credit where credit is due! A great portion of the information about hormones and stress was based on the truly wonderful research of Dr. Elissa Epel, PhD. Dr. Epel is a health pscyhologist at UCSF.
