!@#$%!* This is Why People Are So Confused

I am so annoyed that I'm not even going to wait until tomorrow to post this rant.

I opened an e-mail from Discovery Channel's National Body Challenge today and saw a link for an article titled Small Changes, BIG Weight Loss. The author started out explaining the value of simply reducing your calorie intake 100-300 calories per day.

The premise is true and the advice beneficial. So, a harmless article on weight loss, right? Maybe, until I read this...

How to Knock Out Calories

Of course, if it were that easy, you wouldn't be reading this now. So how do you hunker down and continuously knock out those 200 to 300 calories a day? The often-repeated formula is to combine eating less calories with regular cardiovascular exercise. Do all three, and you're guaranteed to melt away fat.

I'm not sure but I think the third of "do all three" refers to an earlier comment about increasing daily physical activity. The example used was "walking around the office instead of shooting out emails nonstop."

Not a single mention of strength training! Nothing about cardio intervals, of course. No wonder people spend hours doing cardio and then give up from lack of time or mediocre results.

Even worse, the author goes on to say...

But be forewarned: Your body can only metabolize a certain amount of fat — 1 to 1.5 pound(s) a week — on a low-calorie diet, says Tallmadge.

I won't challenge this point although Alwyn Cosgrove and quite a few others would because I'm more appalled by what she says next...

At some point, the fat will turn to muscle, which is why you want to build muscle when losing weight.

What?????? Fitness pros have a hard enough time getting people to understand that fat cannot turn into muscle and vice versa. Muscle and fat are two different types of tissue. You can't turn wood into stone, you can't turn plastic into metal, you can't turn bone into a liver and you can't turn fat into muscle!

It is unbelievable to me that a "health journalist" would not know that. Worse yet is that no one at Discovery caught it.

How many people have been misinformed by that article?

You can read the entire article here ==> Small Changes, BIG Weight Loss

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Stop Multi-Tasking While Exercising

If you're one of those people who believes that carrying weights while walking will kill two birds with one stone, you're wrong. Walking while carrying weights or while performing Shoulder Presses or Bicep Curls is a bad idea for multiple reasons.

To properly work your muscles and get results, muscles need to be challenged. They will not be sufficiently challenged by the size weights you can carry while walking.

Carrying weights while walking can increase your blood pressure, interfere with your natural walking movement, place strain on tendons and ligaments and increase your risk of injury.

If you carry weights in an effort to increase the calorie burn of your walk, don't bother. The small amount of additional calories you might burn is definitely offset by the increase in injury risk. On top of that, carrying weights may actually cause you to slow down when you get tired, burning fewer calories.

To make your walk more productive, incorporate cardio intervals in to your routine. If you're not sure how to do that, check out my previous blog post here.

Did You Know?

* According to a study by the University of California at San Diego, only 3% of 15-year olds get enough daily exercise compared to 90% of 9-year olds.

* From Circulation, 30% of heart attacks worldwide are caused by poor nutrition.

* According to a study of 8,000 Japanese men, being overweight increases your risk of developing colon growths, which could become cancerous. Researchers also found that, after a year, the men who had dropped some weight also had a lower occurrence of polyps than those who had gained or maintained their weight.

* The average American spends 151 hours per month watching TV, an all-time high. ~Nielsen Media Research

* 12.5% of cancer survivors are meeting NONE of the three recommendations regarding diet, smoking and physical activity. Only 5% are meeting all three. The more recommendations survivors follow, the higher their quality of life. ~Journal of Clinical Oncology

Collected Fitness Wisdom #5

Women are just really terrified of weights. They're on cardio machines, elliptical for 60 minutes and wondering why they don't see definition and tone. The missing link is strength training.

~Jessica Matthews


Normally, arguing with a pilates instructor over the internet is about as exciting as playing Marco Polo with Helen Keller, but I’ll play along and make this short and sweet. For the love of god, pilates DOES NOT lengthen (or elongate) your muscles.

~Tony Gentilcore


Consistency is key. Challenging yourself 2-3 days per week, week in and week out, is much better than going all out for a couple months and then completely burning out, getting injured, and falling off the wagon.

~Doug Jackson


Effective doesn't mean excessive. This applies to cardio AND weight training. Strive to get the best results from the least amount of work.

~Brad Pilon

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You Don't Know Squat

Squats are one of the best leg exercises you can do. Period.

Ladies, stop wasting your time doing endless side leg raises and butt kicks.

What am I always preaching? Use compound exercises for the most efficient and effective workout. Performed properly, the Squat is an excellent overall leg movement.

While responding to a question about thinning thighs on her blog, Holly Rigsby of Fit, Yummy Mummy wrote...

While no single exercise can make the fat on one area of your body go away - with the combined effort of cutting out the junk and doing the BEST full body resistance training moves Correctly - you absolutely can accelerate your thinner thighs results and look amazing in your favorite shorts this summer.

“But my thighs get Big and Bulky when I do squats”

If you are following a full body resistance training program and cutting out the junk, your body will have no choice but to burn more fat and cause you to lose inches. Working the muscles in your lower body causes you to become stronger. Muscle is dense and takes up less space than fat.

I find it amusing that many of the online and magazine fitness articles tell women to just use moderate weights to avoid getting bulky.

This simply is not true.

Here's a great video from Holly on proper squatting technique.



You can check out Holly's complete program here ==> Fit Yummy Mummy

Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer

According to Australian and Canadian researchers, physically active women decrease their risk of breast cancer by 25-30%.

The scientists recently reviewed 62 exercise research studies and found that in 85% of the studies, the more exercise the women performed, the greater their risk reduction. This held true even for recreational activities like walking. Even better, they found that you can begin exercising at any age and reduce your risk of breast cancer.


Reference:
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2008;42:636-647 Physical activity and breast cancer risk: impact of timing, type and dose of activity and population subgroup effects

Choosing The Right Workout For You

I came across an excellent guide to choosing a workout program for yourself written by fitness enthusiast, Kelley Moore.

So, if you're not a Lancaster resident and can't join Body & Soul and work with me, check out Kelley's tips.


Which Workout?
by Kelley Moore