Powerwalking: INTERVAL TRAINING

The fall season is upon us. The air is fresh, crisp and cool and the leaves are slowly changing into beautiful colours. The perfect combination for a great powerwalk! Tomorrow is week 3 of my Positively Active training program for Powerwalking which entails INTERVALS! 

What are intervals? 

Interval walking simply means alternating bursts of intense, high activity with bursts of lighter activity. 


The bursts of lighter activity are also called recovery periods because you are allowing your heart rate and breathing to slow down a bit to prepare for the next high intensity interval.

Interval walking has many benefits, which include:


Burns more calories. During those bursts of high activity, you will burn more calories than simply walking at a steady pace at a lower speed.


Improves your cardiovascular fitness. Strengthen your heart and improves your overall fitness level.


Burns more fat. You’ll burn more body fat than just walking at a steady, continuous pace.


Beats the boredom. Interval training adds variety to your walking routine.


Avoids the plateau. Interval training constantly challenges your body and prevents it from adapting and reaching a plateau, which slows your weight loss progress. 

So now that you know the benefits of interval training, why not try it by joining me tomorrow? Thurs. Sept 20th, 6pm to 7pm, 1073 Yonge Street, @ the ROOTS Store in Rosedale! 

Stay active and anything is possible! 

Donna 

Sleep your way to a smaller waist line!

I often ask my clients, "how many of hours of sleep did you get last night?" You might think that this is an odd  question or why would I care how much sleep a client gets in each night. Here's an article from www.sparkpeople.com that explains why I ask. Especially my clients who are focusing on losing weight!

Article:

So you already know that a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise program are keys to your weight loss plan. But are you listening to that other recommendation you’ve heard more than once in your life? Get plenty of sleep. Recent medical studies show that sleep loss can increase hunger and affect your body’s metabolism in a way that makes weight loss more difficult. So if you’re making a good effort in your nutrition and fitness plans, you still might be able to improve your success with better sleep.

How Sleep Loss Affects Weight Loss

1. Hormone function affects the way fat cells respond to the food we eat. Cortisol is a hormone that is commonly released in response to physical or emotional stress. When we are deprived of sleep, cortisol is released at an increased level and makes us feel hungry even if we are full. As a result, people who continue to lose sleep on a regular basis will tend to experience hunger even when they have had an adequate amount of food.
2. Sleep loss results in less deep sleep, the kind that restores our energy levels. Losing deep sleep hours decreases growth hormone levels. Growth hormone is a protein that helps regulate the body’s proportions of fat and muscle in adults. With less growth hormone, we reduce the ability to lose fat and grow muscle.
3. With a loss of sleep, your body may not be able to metabolize carbohydrates as well, which leads to an increased storage of fats and higher levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that the body has trouble disposing of glucose in the liver and other tissues. It is a trigger for serious health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type II diabetes.
4. A lack of sleep goes hand in hand with a lack of energy – not a new concept, but perhaps you’ve grown used to your daily levels of energy and don’t notice that you could gain more. Not only do we accomplish less with less sleep, we also don’t burn as many calories. The body’s reaction is to hoard calories as fat, making our weight loss goals more difficult than they need to be. Sleep is starting to sound pretty important now, isn’t it?

Why Are You Losing Sleep and What Can You Do About It?

Don’t add this information about sleep and weight loss as a stress factor in your life. Take charge and examine why you are losing sleep so that you can do something about it.

Some people choose to live with fewer sleeping hours simply because they think they can stretch more hours of activity in their day. If this is you, remember that a better night’s sleep may actually increase your productivity in a shorter amount of time throughout your day because you have more energy and can think more clearly than when you are tired. For others, sleep loss is a result of already being overweight, which has brought on sleep apnea, lower back pain, or depression and anxiety. There are many management options for such problems, some of which might require medical attention. Check out the following tips first. They are simple enough for anyone to try to help themselves improve their sleep.

Do’s

• Eat a healthy diet. A good SparkPeople reference is right here.
• Establish a regular exercise routine of 3-4 times per week, and do it well before bedtime.
• Try pre-bedtime rituals that relax you – warm baths, light reading, listening to calming music or recorded nature sounds.
• Create a peaceful sleep environment. Adjust the darkness to what works best for you. Make sure the temperature of the room is set to your comfort level.
• Give yourself sleep hours instead of trying to squeeze more activity into one day. Adequate sleeping hours will increase your productivity during waking hours.

Don’ts

• Don’t go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal right before bedtime. Eating high protein food close to bedtime makes your body think it should be active and therefore keeps you awake.
• Don’t nap in the daytime if you have sleeping problems at night.
• Don’t take in caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol from the late afternoon and beyond.
• Don’t lie in bed agitated if you can’t sleep. After a half hour, move to a different room and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.

Realize that you need to listen to your body in determining how much sleep is right for you. Too much sleep can be just as unhealthy as too little sleep. Recognize that the sleep you get each night is just as important as the choices you make in eating and exercising as you achieve your weight loss goals.

Can you cheat on your diet and still lose weight?

I thought this was a great article from www.sparkpeople.com to share with anyone who's wondered if allowing your self to  "cheat" while trying to lose weight was helpful or hindering your progress! What are your thoughts? 

"Cheating" is the act of deceiving others or being dishonest. The word conjures up images of copying someone else's answers during an exam, fudging your taxes, or counting cards.  Needless to say, these are not positive activities.  But does the same negative connotation apply to a cheat meal (or day) for a person on a diet?  Can "cheating" on one's diet be beneficial—even fun—or is it just setting the stage for dieting disaster? 
 
As a registered dietitian, I am often asked about cheat meals and cheat days.  Usually the dieter seems to be asking the question out of desperation. He or she often mentions feeling obsessed and exhausted of counting calories. "I want to have a cheat day once a week where I can eat whatever I want without worrying about my calories," they often say.  "But will this cheat day hurt my weight loss?" In other cases, people eat so "clean" (i.e. perfect) on their diets that they simply can't keep up with it day in and day out. They feel that they "need" a cheat meal or day to look forward to and keep them accountable to their strict diet all the other days.
 
I think everyone would agree that even though it has been documented to help people lose weight, daily calorie counting is a big pain in the butt.  You have to read labels, measure portions and keep track of so many details. Food selection is constantly on your mind.  Focusing so much on calories makes it easy to get into the trap of trying to eat a strict diet of "good" foods, then falling off the wagon and overeating the "bad" foods you tried to avoid.  Your vocabulary and thoughts are consumed with extremes: good foods vs. bad foods, cheating vs. being good, restricting vs. overindulging. It is easy to see why you'd want to "cheat" on a system like this. But is cheating on your diet really the answer?

Scientifically speaking, "cheating" has not been studied enough for me to give you a clear-cut answer on whether or not it works in the short-term or the long-term.  However, the science of caloric intake, as well as the psychological implications of cutting and counting calories, has been extensively researched.  So let's explore what we do know and apply it to the idea of cheat days.

"Calories in vs. calories out" is the golden rule for effective weight loss. To lose weight, a person must eat fewer calories than he or she burns.  Let's assume you are cutting a total of 3,500 over the course of a week to lose 1 pound.  In this example, your daily calorie intake is about 1,200-1,500 calories. (Calculate your daily calorie needs for weight loss here.) Say you choose to eat right in the middle of your recommended range: 1,350 calories per day. How would an innocent "cheat" day affect your progress?

• Scenario #1:  On your cheat day, you indulge in a few extra sweets or treats and take in 2,500 calories total.  This brings your daily average to 1,514, which is still within your weight-loss calorie range.  Therefore, you should still lose weight for the week.
   
• Scenario #2:  On your cheat day you eat anything and everything you've been craving: a fast food value meal, potato chips, a milkshake and some buttery popcorn. You take in 4,000 calories.  This brings your daily average to 1,729, which is over your weight-loss calorie range.  Therefore, you will probably maintain your current weight for the week.

This simple example illustrates how a cheat day can easily derail your weight loss efforts.  If you eat with reckless abandon and no real plan (or calorie counting), as in scenario #2, you'll stall your weight loss. But scenario #1 shows how the occasional higher calorie day can still fit into a weight-loss plan when it's properly planned and somewhat controlled.  Planning for that little indulgence on occasion is easier than you may think and uses the weight loss technique that I call "calorie banking." 
 
Your Calorie Bank
The banking of calories works in a similar fashion as your checking account or debit card.  For example, if you invite your main squeeze to dinner and a movie on Friday, you have to make sure you have the funds to cover your outing. So you save a few extra bucks Monday through Friday, therefore providing sufficient money in your account to spend on the evening out.  Now, apply the same principle with the calorie banking.  By eating at the lower end of your recommended calorie range Monday through Friday, you can accumulate a few more calories to spend on your Saturday splurge day, while still remaining within your weekly budget when you take the average for the seven day period.  While this gives you more calories to spend on your special day, it still requires planning. This works because a single day of calories (whether low or high) won't make or break your weight loss. It's the overall trend—or weekly average—of calories that affects changes in your body.
 
Better than Cheating: How to Remain Faithful to an Eating Plan You Love
If you feel the desire to cheat on your diet, it may not be your fault. Your diet—or your view of how you "should" or "need to" eat to lose weight or be healthier—is the real culprit. If your diet is so restrictive, plain, boring, tedious, or "perfect" that you can't stick with it forever, then try these smart strategies to bring your eating habits back to normal.

• Start embracing all foods.  Remember that no single food causes weight gain.  Weight management is based on total calorie intake—not the restriction of certain foods, ingredients or food groups. All foods can fit into a healthy eating plan. Instead of thinking about foods as being "good" or "bad," change your food language.

• • Instead of saying "This is a bad food," say "This food has a lot of calories; if I really want it, I will have it in moderation."
     
  • Instead of saying "I cheated," say "I ate more than I wanted to, but that happens to everyone once in awhile. It is normal and I won't beat myself up over it."
     
  • Instead of saying "I was bad," say "I ate more calories than I intended, but I am in control now."
     
• Start to enjoy those "off limits" foods in smaller portions. Slowly incorporate food you once considered "bad" into your eating plan.  Don't be discouraged if you occasionally eat too much of a food that you once considered "off limits."  If you are used to eating large quantities of a food, it may take practice to moderate your portions. To help, savor every bite and take your time eating.  Make snacks last at least 15 minutes and stretch out your meals to last at least 30 minutes.  Do not eat out of packages.  Make food special by putting it on a real plate or bowl and using silverware.  Limit distractions and enjoy your food without watching television or using the computer.
   
• Socialize and enjoy. Enjoy once "off-limit" foods in the company of others. This may help you avoid over-indulging, which is easier to do when you are alone.  When you are in a restaurant with companions, order what you want, not what you "should" eat.  Savor every bite and enjoy it slowly.  Stop eating when you feel the first signs of fullness.  Don't feel that you must clean your plate.  If you have difficulty eating certain foods in small amounts when home alone, practice eating safe portions in safe places where you are less likely to overeat. 

Overcoming the Desire to Cheat
I have a friend named Patrick who had smoked for more than 30 years and finally decided to quit. The next time I saw Patrick, I said, "I hear you've quit smoking.  How's it going?" 
 
Patrick sternly looked me straight in the eye and said, I did not quit smoking, for I am not a quitter!  I chose to not smoke!" 
 
What a powerful statement that you can apply it to your weight-loss journey as well.  You are not a quitter! You are not a cheater! If you feel the need or desire to "cheat" on your diet, it may be worth examining your relationship with food and whether you're actually taking steps to leave dieting behind in favor of adopting a healthy eating plan that you can live with for life. The idea of "cheating" tends to reinforce the concept that certain foods are "good" in your mind while others are "bad." This idea is hard to break if you've been on and off diets throughout your life, but it's not impossible. The healthiest eating plan—and mental outlook—is to embrace all types of foods and never to feel guilt, remorse, embarrassment or discouragement about the foods you eat. Taking proactive steps to ditch the "diet" mentality can reduce your anxiety and obsession with food and help you avoid out-of-control binges that derail your weight-loss efforts.
 

Source
 
Kushner, Robert, MD, ''The Swing Eater Handout,'' in Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2003).

The power of Positive Energy!

Ignite the Energy Within

 

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

                                                                             – Napoleon Hill 

 

Energy is seen in the way you carry yourself. Do you exude energy and transfer it to those around you? Or do you suck it out of people?  Nobody likes to be in a room full of energy vampires.  The amount of energy you give, whether positive or negative, determines how you are perceived and how you are treated.

 

Positive body language 

 

Your body language demonstrates energy all day long. This energy is like a chain reaction. Two positive energies build on each other to create more and more positive energy. It’s like being with Oprah when she gets everyone pumped up during the taping of one her shows. The expression on her face, her stance, her posture exude confidence and enthusiasm channeling energy to each audience member. The energy level keeps building and building as people become more excited, positive, and energized. It’s the law of attraction: energy attracts energy and builds on energy.

 

Words and positive energy  

 

Talking positively reinforces positive energy. The effects are immediate. You can actually see people light up when they listen to someone whose words are fueled by positive energy. People have to believe in that energy and in the person who is leading or speaking. When they do, watch out! Words that inspire create energy. Words accompanied by the right body language can create a genuine and contagious energy.

Are you contagious … is your energy level on full … if not, plug it in …

This amazing inspirational piece was sent to me by Tim Cork (www.timcork.com) He is an incredible person and I am blessed to have worked with him in his Straight A's group!