How to Enjoy Halloween Without Being Frightened By Your Scale

October 31^st has come around again. It is really the beginning of a two month season of indulgence, right? I have people ask for advice because they are in fear of the approaching coldness of the weather and fatness of the winter comfort food. However, the extra candy around the house doesn’t have to be a poltergeist to your wellness plan. Here are some tips on how to get through it.

1. With extra candy around the house, keep some extra healthy options around as well. Sometimes, I just need a snack. The candy is so easy to grab, and is ok once in a while. However, make a bowl of trail mix with healthy ingredients. Personally, I like a mixture of Kashi “Heart to Heart” Honey roasted oat cereal, raisins, and plain almonds. It is just the right combination of sweet and crunchy and fills that “candy craving” quite nicely.

2. If you can’t resist the candy temptation, go for a handful of gummy bears or sour candy instead of a chocolate bar. One snack size snickers has about 3 times the calories of a snack size package of Sour Gummies. It may not be the healthiest option, but definitely the lesser of two Freddy’s to keep you from having a November waistline nightmare.

3. Play “Hide the Pumpkin”. Studies show that people eat more cookies if they have a see-through glass cookie jar verses an opaque one. The point is, put the Halloween candy in the pantry. Limit the kids to just  2-3 pieces per day and that only after a healthy meal. Then make yourself live by the same rule. 

4. Walk with the kids around the neighborhood. I know, the “trick or treating” has passed until next year. But remember, while it may be tempting next year to send your spouse out with the kids to walk the neighborhood while you stay at home to hand out the candy: volunteer to be the chaperone next time around. After all, who do you think consumes the fewer number of calories?

Just because it is Halloween, you don’t have to turn into your own self-destructive Chuckie. With a little discipline and forethought, it is possible to enjoy the holidays without waking with regret the next day……if the spirits let you wake up at all!!!! (insert evil laugh here!)

INSANITY workout program- Weeks 2 and 3

Three weeks down on Insanity and I am warming up to, though not hot on the program for my readers.

As stated last week, I like the intensity of the program. If you are feeling lethargic (and who isn’t at 5am when Susan and I get up to do the workout), Shaun T is going to push you to get out of your funk.   I also love the creative new exercises I have learned such as bench press leg raises, power jumping jacks, standing sprints with hurdles, plank oblique knee raises, and ski jumps.  I also love that, when I am limited on time, I know I can still get a good return on my short investment.

There is one big issue about which I want to caution readers. You really need to know your body and pay attention to how you are doing the exercises. Shaun has you moving so fast that it is very easy to sacrifice form just to keep up. There are a lot of moves where you bend over and stand up while jumping.

For example, while watching my wife, I noticed she has a hard time squatting fast enough to get to the ground, so she compensates by bending forward at the back. Since she is also jumping and twisting at the same time, this can seriously compromise her back. There have been a few days where Susan has complained of her back, knees, and shoulders (in the area of the rotator cuff) being pretty painful. I recognize these symptoms as not being “normal” workout aches and soreness, so we have talked through modifying her form on some of the moves.

If you have minimal knowledge of proper body mechanics, be sure to really watch the leader, Shaun T, closely and have a mirror so you can keep an eye on your form. Don’t pay that much attention to the models, as they sometimes don’t have the best form either.

Now, I will go back to watching game 7 of the World Series. Go Cards!

P90x: The Fitness Road Less Traveled

There are many roads to fitness. There are roads that, unfortunately, are circles and lead right back to where we started. There are roads that are possible but require a level of knowledge that some people just do not have. There are others that lead to success, but require a lot of money and/or time that are not possible at this stage of our lives.  There are other roads that are risky because they require a level of self-discipline and commitment that are difficult to come by but, nonetheless, attainable. I would place P90X in the latter category.

In case you are one of the 12 people in America who haven’t seen the infomercial, P90X stands for Power 90 (for 90 days) X (Extreme). It is a diverse series of fitness videos including resistance training, plyometrics, core strengthening and flexibility training designed to keep challenging your body in different ways to encourage positive change.

 Susan and I decided to do P90X about 6 months ago for a lot of reasons. I was a bit resistant at first because I was comfortable doing what I was doing. But, the chance to do something different and to get to workout with my life partner was enough to give it a try.

After a short period of time I was impressed. Tony Horton (the host trainer) pushed us to a level of intensity that we had not ever been able to do on our own. He also pushed me to try “new” things, such as yoga and jump training, and things I have never been good at, such as pull ups and 1-arm pushups.

The other positive was that every time Tony would change things up, I would end up being sore and exhausted…in a good way. I knew my body was going to make progress, and it has. Another important part of the plan is to track your progress by writing down the weight and number of reps. This is something people rarely do on their own, but is helpful in seeing real meaningful progress.

There are, however, some things that concern me about P90X. One is that the workouts are probably a bit long for some. They vary from a little over an hour to 1 ½ hours. This may discourage some to stick with it.

 It also is, after all, just a video. The trainer is not watching you perform the exercises. Therefore, due to the intensity and speed at which the exercises are performed, there could be risk for injury if not careful. Another inherent weakness with a video series is that it is a cookie-cutter approach and doesn’t take into account each individual weakness.

So, the verdict is P90X is a good, affordable option to help jump start or push you through your plateau in your fitness plan. Finishing the P90X program feels gratifying because the road we chose was the road least traveled: good old-fashioned hard work, intensity, and commitment.

Below are my "before and after" photos. Pic #1 was in around February of 2011 (note the pale shade of winter :) ) and the after was in September 2011 after 6 months of P90x.

Top Physical Therapy Advice To Fuel Your Exercise Program

Every day I find myself handing out advice. It also tends to be the same advice over and over. So, for the next few blogs I am going to share the “tips” I find myself giving out most often that could help with your workouts, keep you from getting injured, and help maintain your focus for hitting your goals.

Part 1: Lifting and body mechanics

1. Knees behind toes- No, I am not suggesting you play Twister…although that sounds like fun. Instead, when doing squats or lunges, look down. If your knees are jutting out over your toes, there is likely undo strain being placed on your knees. Step out a little farther so when you squat your knees are behind your toes.
2. Chest and head up when squatting- if you look down when lifting an object, the tendency is to flatten out the lumbar spine and place increased strain on the back. So, think “head and chest up” when lifting to keep the lumbar spine in its naturally curved position.
3. Lift with your legs- everyone knows this one but so few do it! Perhaps it is because of lack of flexibility combined with lack of energy that people allow gravity to pull the trunk forward instead of lowering their trunk with their legs. You won’t lift with your legs if you don’t use them to get into position. You can start strengthening your legs by leaning against a wall and sliding down to do mini-squats. This can also help control dust around your house!
4. Use a wide base of support- unless you are trying to balance on one leg in the yoga “tree” pose, spread your legs apart when exercising, especially when lifting weights from the floor. It will increase your stability and help you be able to lift more weight safely.

So, there you go. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bill you for a 15 minute therapy unit. This one is on me. But now, it’s on you. As you exercise to achieve your goal, remember to use good body mechanics so you stay healthy and injury-free in the process.

Happy Meals Over Big Macs...What a toddler can teach us about eating to achieve our weight loss goals

When you think about a toddler, what comes to mind? Boundless energy…fun-loving….and generally happy, except when they are mindlessly screaming because they wanted to shut the van door and you accidentally shut it yourself. Lack of emotional filters aside, we can really learn a lot about how to be healthy and lose weight from toddlers. 

1. Only eat the amount you need. Toddlers are great at this. To many parents’ dismay, children go through periods where one would think they are on a Lenten fast, and they won’t eat even their favorite foods. But toddlers will generally only eat the amount their body needs. In a survey by Appetite magazine, 85% of 142 families say they try to get their kids to eat to eat more at meal-time through persuasion. But the old adage that “a child will eat when he is hungry” is really true, and we should follow that rule as well.
2. Take your time when you eat. My son is the master at this…so much so that sometimes we have to set a kitchen timer just to get him to move it along when we are on a schedule. But Jake just really likes to talk at dinner….a lot! That translates into long meal times. It really is helpful to be social when you can with your meals. People that are too busy to sit down with their family to eat are often people who gain weight. Why? Because eating together, talking as you eat, and taking your time will help you feel full faster and eat fewer calories. But no, you don’t have to bring your favorite Thomas the Tank Engine or baby doll to distract you from your food.
3. Just keep moving! Now, your toddler probably does this before, during, and after dinner. I am not suggesting you move constantly during your meal, but I certainly think you could move before or after. Even if it is just to get on the floor with the kids and wrestle around with them after dinner, every bit of motion you can add to your day will help you in your overall weight-loss goals.
4. Happy Meals over Big Macs. When eating out, think about eating a “child’s” meal. A McDonald’s Happy Meal has anywhere from 450-650 calories. Since an adult meal should probably be around that amount based on a 1,500-2,000 calorie/day meal plan, adults should think about eating a child-size portion when eating out. No, you don’t have to eat a child’s hamburger and apple dippers, but you should rethink the size and quantity of your portions if you want to be successful in achieving your goals.

Redefining Normal

I read a great blog that fits in well with my philosophy of peeling away the layers of the fat onion by changing habits and redefining a new you.  Please check out Roger's great but short read on "Redefining Normal":

http://www.roglawfitness.com/redefining-normal/