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Simple Steps To Increase Your Burn

July 20, 2011 By
breakfast smoothie

The meal that kick starts your day that should be the highest calorie meal of your day is BREAKFAST. I know, you don’t have time, you never have eaten breakfast, you hate eggs, you’re not hungry, you’re a grab n go coffee type. I get it. But start somewhere. Your body as it slept last night repaired itself from the damages you laid in to it yesterday, and prepared itself for the next round today. But it takes work to do this. IT IS hungry. Your last calorie intake was last night sometime, be it early or late, good or bad content? Your body then works all night burning the midnight oil to get you ready to take on today. Breakfast breaks the fast of no nourishment during sleep, while your body continued toiling over your repair and preparation. Do with out a “break the fast” meal, and the body slows down metabolically working at a less than optimum calorie burn, robbing you of results.

Start simple but start somewhere. A meal replacement shake to begin the day’s journey is simple, and easily obtained from a variety of sources and can provide balanced nutrients and calories. It’s a start. Get in the habit of at least this. Perhaps in a week or two you’ll find that you ARE hungry when you awaken, and you can add a cereal, oatmeal or bagel to the line up and pretty soon, you’ll be a full fledged breakfast eater. Your body learns and adapts to what you teach it in the gym or at the table. Do the same things in the gym, teach your body just that, and limit results. Teach it to go hungry by not eating break fast, it learns to live with it. “Learns to live with it” does not mean it should live with it, as breakfast jump starts today’s calorie burn.

Outside of good and frequent eats, to get the most from your calorie burn, you must commit to cardio with regularity and change. People reply often when asked about cardio exercise “well I walk”. That’s great of course, but my reply is “your body knows how to walk”. Simply put, it is not being challenged by walking as it already acquired that skill. It is familiar with walking. But what if you walked as if you were late to a meeting? I mean late, as like your gonna be the VERY last person to walk in to a crowded “all hands” meeting where every one goes silent and looks at you as you enter the meeting, with that “ I’m glad I am not YOU” look on their faces, jaws agape. Now there, you have something. A brisk walk can raise your heart rate enough to give it a cardio vascular benefit. Just walking is just that….JUST walking. Have you ever tried walking backwards, or on uneven surfaces, or sand? Give it a go and see what it tells your body. It’s all about proactive cardio change, shaking up your norms to get gains.

Take your age and subtract it from 220. That result represents your maximum heart rate. The goal is to train such that your heart rate has a sustained period of time in the 65% to 85% range of that MHR number found by taking your age from 220. The lower end of that range; 65%, is more in tune with fat burning and the upper end; 85%, more for high end cardio endurance building. For an added boost use resistance training in combination with cardio. Weight lifting has its own cardiovascular benefits and the combination of the two is a powerful weapon. Using cardio for a warm up followed by a weight training session then closed out with a cardio session can be most effective. During weight training your body will burn through most of its stored fuels and when you hit the cardio post weight training, it has to reach deeper in to your fat stores for energy. For more information call Fitness Together 619-794-0014.



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Summer New Rears Resolution #3

July 5, 2011 By
summer new rears resolution 3 buns red bathingsuit bottom

By following April and May New Rears Resolution Parts 1 and 2, you are now 8 weeks or so ahead of the curve to tighten your toosh to bring in the summer with a tighter toner look in the back side. Last month’s installment tackled “My Buns Are Too Saggy” where we employed the Hyperextension with leg curl; the Donkey Kick; the Side Lying Bicycle, and the Couch Bridge. Those movements combined with the 3 additional exercises we demonstrated in our Part 1 segment for big bun reducing, should be giving you noticeable differences in the gluteus area.

Now we attack our last area of booty challenge: ”My buns are too flat” to “round out” your New Rears Resolution summer reveal. It is time to show off your hard work with confidence. You have now tackled the prevalent problem areas brought up when talking about our backside: 1) “My buns are too big;” 2) “My buns are too saggy;” 3) “My buns are too flat;” In order to de-flatten and build a shapely booty, you’ll need to head to the gym for this final round of shaping. The following 4 booty-building exercises will give your bum a serious shape-changing workout.

Booty-Building Exercise #1: Dumbbell Squat

Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, with toes pointed straight ahead. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Inhale as you squat down, keeping your back straight and tummy pulled in, as you lower your upper leg to near parallel with the floor. Exhale as you press up through your entire foot surface with equal pressure on the toe and heel to return to the standing position. Do 15 repetitions.

Booty-Building Exercise #2: Dumbbell Lunge

Stand with feet together and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Inhale as you step (lunge) forward, keeping your lunging knee directly over your ankle. Exhale as you push off with your lunging heel, and return to the starting position. Take your time here, this is not a race. You need to “feel” the movement. Do 15 repetitions and repeat on the other leg.

Booty-Building Exercise #3: Straight-legged Deadlift

Stand with feet shoulder width apart, a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing your thighs. Inhale as you bend forward at the hips, keeping your back flat, and legs relatively straight. Lower the dumbbells down until you feel a pull in your hamstrings. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs and as you exhale to return to the start position, focus on contracting your glutes and driving your pelvis forward. This movement, as with most, is all about “feel”. You must feel your glutes contract as you push through your heels to maximize results. Do 15 repetitions.

Booty-Building Exercise #4: Dumbbell Sumo Squat

Stand with feet significantly outside of your shoulders, toes pointed at 10am and 2pm respectively. A wider foot width allows you to drop your hips deeper in this motion. The goal is to squat to a level where your upper thigh is parallel or slightly below parallel to the floor. Depth of squat matters here. Let’s now take a single dumbbell that would equal the combined weight used in either the Dumbbell Lunge or Dumbbell Squat. Hold this single dumbbell in front of you with arms extended toward the floor gripping the dumbbell with both hands on one head of the dumbbell. Inhale as you sink your hips to parallel to the floor. As you ascend, place all of the pressure on your heels to direct the force to your glutes as you exhale.

Portion size, frequency and quality of food choices are key, as well as starting your day with a quality breakfast. You can not out train bad nutritional choices, no matter how hard you work at shaping your toosh. Eating healthy; light and often are key.

For professional guidance call Fitness Together at 619 794 0014. Follow our blog at BetterBodySanDiego.com

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Summer Look Calorie Burn Basics

June 21, 2011 By
summer calorie burn basics mans abdominals

With summer right around the corner following a few tactics can help you achieve the best look possible when slipping back in to those shorts, tanks, tees and swim suits. Your metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns up calories. Burning more calories than consumed is goal to lose weight. You burn calories to provide energy for three main functions:

Basil Metabolic Rate: This is the amount of calories you burn just by being alive, even when you’re doing nothing. It accounts for approximately 60 percent of calories you burn.

Burning Calories for Activity: This is the energy used during movement- from lifting your arm to button your shirt to cleaning house. This accounts for approximately 30 percent of the calories you burn.

Dietary Thermogenesis: The calories burned in the process of eating, digesting, absorbing and using food accounts for approximately 10 percent of the calories you burn.

You can influence all of these factors, and speed up your rate of burning calories, using the following tactics:

• Build muscle: increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. Leaner is better, as lean tissue is “active”. Fatty tissue just hangs around, literally, while lean tissue burns calories due to their active status.

• Be active: the average person burns about 30 percent of calories through daily activity; sedentary people only use about 15 percent. Taking every opportunity to move more can make quite a difference to the amount of calories you burn.

• Eat spicy foods: spices, especially chili, can raise the metabolic rate by up to 50 percent for up to 3 hours after you’ve eaten a spicy meal. I love spicy foods, and notice when I eat them, that it tends to make me perspire. Yes the food itself might be hot with spices, but my metabolism is also a blaze!

• Aerobic exercise: high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories during exercise and for several hours afterwards. The after burn is called Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption. After exercise the body must use increased amounts of oxygen to replenish energy supplies, lower tissue temperatures, and return the body to a resting state. Getting your heart rate up is one of the keys to the calorie burn kingdom.

• Eat little, often: eating healthy small meals will keep your metabolism moving faster than larger, less frequent meals and helps to control hunger, making you less likely to binge. Start with a balanced breakfast. Skipping this meal is the worst thing you can do as it tells your body that it is in starve mode, so it slows metabolically, storing fat, waiting for its next intake of nutrition to burn for energy. The goal is to burn calories around the clock by teaching the body that it gets fed every 2 to 4 hours. What can you port from home for your day out that is smart snacking to keep the calorie burn on high? Fruits and nuts, power bars, protein drinks, yogurts, the list is endless, but planning ahead is required.

Five sure fire ways to get you lean and toned for that best summer look possible!

Fitness Together 619-794-0014.

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Summer New Rears Resolution #1

May 4, 2011 By
summer new rears resolution butt in white bikini

This is the first of a 3 part “Toosh Targeting” installment to get your backside reduced, toned, tightened and firmed for the summer months ahead when your buns will be a bit more on display, given our skimpier summer attire. This is non gender specific, so guys and gals lend me your ear to kick it in gear for your 2011 New Rears Resolution.

Most people have one of the following things to say about their toosh: 1) “My buns are too big;” 2) “My buns are too saggy;” 3) “My buns are too flat;” or 4) “My buns are too big, too saggy AND too flat”………………………uhoh!

 New Rears Resolution #1   “My buns are too big!” Let’s tackle this one first.

Fat-Burner A: Run………….”The tightener”

  1. To target your glutes focus on extending your hips and keeping your chest lifted. Consider your stride length; the farther you extend and contract your glutes the more work they do.
  2. Roll all the way forward onto your toes with each step, in order to engage more of your glutes. This also gets your calves deeper involved in the action.
  3. Run up hills, stairs, or on the treadmill at an incline. Inclined surfaces engage the glutes more so than flat surfaces.
  4. Run on a sandy beach or gravel path – the uneven surface forces you to work harder to stabilize your lower body. You get great core benefit and again more deeply engage the calves.
  5. Before you run and after you finish take a few moments to stretch. Stretching is essential as a warm up and cool down to running and works to elongate muscle fibers pre and post workout.

Fat-Burner B: Elliptical……..”The streamliner”

  1. Posture matters. Don’t drape your upper body over the front of the elliptical machine, as this will bring the focus to your quads and lower back instead of your glutes. Instead, keep your back straight and posture upright. If you try to push slightly more through your heels rather than your toes, you’ll get added glute targeted sensation.
  2. Most machines have computer modes that simulate stairs or hills. Use those modes when available. This will ensure that the emphasis is on your glutes instead of your quads.
  3. Remember to push down through your heels with each stride. For an added jolt to the toosh, sink down into a squat for 30 second intervals while striding. This will intensify the bun burn. Oh my!
  4. Let go of the handles. This will force your core to stabilize you for some added core benefit. Hands free operation is always slightly more challenging, hence a greater calorie burn.

Fat-Burner C: Swim………..”The calorie burner”

  1. Start each lap with an explosive push from the wall. Place the soles of your feet flat against the side of the pool, bend your knees and explode forward with your legs. Pushing through the heels directs more energy to your glutes.
  2. Use flippers. This may sound silly, but try a few laps with a kickboard and swim fins, and you’ll quickly feel the intense emphasis on your glutes. The flippers displace more water and create greater energy needs directed at your rear end, Your New Rears Resolution rear end that is.
  3. Vary your kick. Go from flutter to frog kicks to target all of your glutes.
  4. Try some in-water squat jumps: stand in chest-level water with feet shoulder width apart, toes turned slightly outward. Bend your knees and lower your hips then explode upward, pushing through your heels. Heel pressure targets the hamstrings and glutes. Toe pressure puts more on the knees and quadriceps.

This month we focused on bun reducing, next month, on bun lifting and in June we’ll attack bun shaping in our final toosh targeting New Rears Resolution installment.  Jumpstart your summer now by calling Fitness Together 619 7940014. Follow our blog at www.betterbodysandiego.com

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What’s in your rear view mirror?

December 20, 2010 By
rear view mirror

Ever wonder why rear view mirrors are so small? It’s pretty simple. What goes on behind you is less important than what’s ahead. What’s behind you can become a distraction to what is out in front of you, blocking your views, changing your perspectives and distracting you from the roadway ahead. Hence, small rear view mirror.

All too often we can not let the past go, and that tends to effect and “defect” our futures, altering who we can become and where we can grow. What we think and how we feel about ourselves makes a huge difference on who we are, and either limits, or enlarges who we can become. Hence the need for small rear view mirrors of the mind. What is past is past and let’s face it, we all fall short. The key is what we do to recover from our falls.

1) You Fall

Your fall off the wagon could take place in a single moment or it could be the result of a drawn out process. Most falls happened slowly as a result of being last on the list of priorities. At some point regret sets in. “If only I would have taken better care of ME.” Illness, vacation, holidays, changes at work or any other change in your schedule are all things that’ll get you off the wagon. Once you’re off the real damage begins.

2) You Surrender

There comes a point after you fall off the wagon that you simply throw your hands up in the air and give in. Too often it’s, “I started eating whatever I wanted” – and that’s never good. “My drug of choice is food. I use food to comfort, to soothe, to ease stress.” This is the most destructive part of the cycle. You remove all expectations from yourself and as a result you plummet into an unhealthy realm. Any progress that you’ve made toward your goals is lost.

3) You Hit Bottom

Inevitably there comes the moment when you hit bottom. Your body shows the new weight gain and you feel awful about it. For most it is a sobering moment. People here, feel despair, defeat, loss of self worth and often times give up completely and let “fat” rule. While hitting bottom is never a fun experience, it is a necessary one. The pain must become great enough for you to turn it around and take the control back.

4) You Take Control

Now comes the good part. When you hit bottom you were out of control, now you’re ready to grab the reigns. You let go of the old ways; the old you and you don’t look back. The time has come to put you at the top of the priority list. The time has come to take definitive action that you are worth it.

Take any set back as a “set up” to get back aboard the life style wagon that revolves around healthy foods, friends, entertainment and exercise, to avoid that next phase where surrender takes hold. Guilt and regret are tools the “rear view mirror” of the mind uses against you to keep you down. Remove the limitations that looking back does. The rear view mirror is small………..on purpose.

For more information contact Fitness Together (619) 794-0014.

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Oh Those Extra Pounds

December 7, 2010 By
oh those extra pounds time flies

We often remind people, and ourselves to consider the notion that it’s not what you are today, it’s what you are going to become as you age. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the faster time seems to fly. Hard to believe it is December. Harder to believe it’s close to 2011. Harder still, is to look at my driver’s license and ponder my own age. How did that happen? How did I get this old THAT fast?

I say all of this to focus you in on the word regret. Too many people have the R word as part of makeup. “I wish I would have”……………..is a commonality amongst most whom have let their health and fitness level slide, only to look up one day at that driver license and realize the speed at which their time on this earth is passing. “I used to be _____________”…………….. thinner, healthier, X sizes smaller, a track athlete, a swimmer, a runner, a cyclist, a volleyball champ, a basketball star, a football hero……….the list goes on and on, but the theme rings through………….regret. “Life took over” and “I gave up………… on me”. “Had I only made me a priority?”

A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology makes a few salient points. The study included 2,845 participants who were an average of 74 years old when they were enrolled. They had no mobility problems at the start of the study. During seven years of follow-up, women who were overweight or obese (body mass index of 25 or greater) from their mid-20s to their 70s were nearly three times more likely to develop mobility problems than women who were normal weight throughout their lives. Overweight or obese men were 1.6 times more likely to develop mobility problems.

The researchers also found that women who were obese (BMI of 30 or greater) at age 50, but not in their 70s, were 2.7 times more likely to develop mobility limitations than women who weren’t obese throughout their lives. Men with a similar weight history were 1.8 times more likely to develop mobility problems.

“In both men and women, being overweight or obese put them at greater risk of developing mobility limitations in old age, and the longer they had been overweight or obese, the greater the risk,” lead investigator Denise Houston, an expert on aging and nutrition and an assistant professor of gerontology at the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a center news release.

Listen, you don’t have to look or feel great to get started, but you do have to get started, in order to look and feel great. Don’t reflect back one day with regret and wish you would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. You can change your future, by changing your present. What’s your preference, cane, walker, wheel chair, bed …………….or standing, moving and fighting for every quality moment you have?

For information on how to get started call Fitness Together 619 794- 0014.

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Don’t Wait to Get Fit

November 6, 2010 By
Holiday stress

Soon after Halloween, we begin to think of the holidays and all the happiness, joy, stress……. and, the guilt that comes with them. So begins the media hype regarding eating, drinking, and overall indulgence, that leads us to the 10 pound weight gain that we believe is inevitable. The toxic messages begin….eat more, drink more, party more, celebrate more, do more. Those messages, along with the long standing traditions of your family, may lead you down the overindulgence path throughout the holidays and leave you feeling tired, depressed and frustrated come January. You CAN make this year different. You CAN go through the entire Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season with a spirit of joy and hope, with lots of energy and enthusiasm without the accompanying weight gain and guilt. With just a few small “attitude adjustments”, you can sprint into January feeling refreshed and revitalized.

Here are a few tips for the season:

  • Have a food replacement shake before attending an event.
  • Don’t keep trigger foods in the house. Neither you, nor your family needs them.
  • Wear your most form fitting jeans when you go out to eat and/or tie a string around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge.
  • Do not stop your regular exercise program. Make the time to put YOU first.

We all have the ability to choose our responses to events in our lives. Yet each holiday, on average, people gain about 10 pounds between now and January 1st  due to eating too much, and moving too little. At the same time, people are over stressing because of the manic schedules, the guilt over food behaviors, and the day only being 24 hours long, which all add additional health burdens.

 Change your thinking!  Replace the negative thoughts like:

There’s nothing I can do to stay healthy during the holidays.

That’s just the way I am during the holidays.

The holidays make me feel so stressed.

I can’t take the time to work out until after the holidays.

I Can’t………………I Don’t……………….If Only

 With proactive thoughts such as:

I’ll find alternatives to overindulging this season.

I can  choose a different approach this year.

I control my own feelings at all times and I choose to feel great!

I want to take the time necessary to make sure I stay healthy during the holidays.

I Choose……………….I Prefer……………I Will……………I CAN

The more deposits you make in to your “fitness bank”, in terms of working out, and food behaviors, the more likely you are to move through the holiday’s with ample cheer, will power, and stick-to-itiveness, coming out on the other side in great “shape” for 2011. In part, the choices we make in the next weeks will do much to propel us into the next year, providing for a more manageable New Year’s resolution in terms of health. You can do it !

For more information contact Fitness Together at 619-794-0014.

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DIET Redefined- Daily Intake of Energy Treats

October 30, 2010 By
Diet What is good

AUDIO: Diet Redefined

Your new definition of “DIET” is your DAILY INTAKE of ENERGY TREATS! Your daily eating plan consisting of 5 to 7 meals a day is your diet. Note the word “plan”. All good things begin and end with a purposeful plan of attack. No deprivation here, just real foods, not packaged or pre-cooked, all built in to a healthy eating plan.

Let’s stop and think about the foods people ate back in the 1800’s: vegetables grown in the ground, fruits off the trees, animals that were hunted, fish that were caught, and grains that were picked.

There were no pasta primavera, cheese enchiladas or chili rellenos and definitely, no burgers and fries. Have you seen any burger stands on the Ponderosa? Not likely. Of course, those days were much more primitive and cooked foods were prepared over a wood-burning fire. There were no microwaves or fancy ovens, no food processors or pasta machines and no refrigeration. Fast food was in fact fast food. If you were fast enough and smart enough to catch it, you ate. What was caught that day was eaten………that day. What this shows us is that the food was fresh, all-natural with no preservatives and prepared over a fire or eaten raw. Perhaps not completely practical today, BUT……..

If society could get back to the basics by eating more all-natural foods, more fruits and vegetables, fresh fish instead of red-meat and less sugar and flour products, we would be much healthier, live longer and probably be much happier. Of course, our activity level would need to increase since the pioneers walked or rode horses for transportation, and as noted, caught or farmed their foods.  As you know, this burns more calories than sitting in our cars in the fast food line, or embedded in the sofa watching American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.

If we could incorporate the ways of our ancestors by eating more natural foods and exercising more, as a way of life, we could improve many aspects of our lives. Here are a few benefits we could expect:

  • increased mental and physical energy
  • Higher metabolism
  • Increased muscle mass
  • Body-fat reduction
  • Good examples for our children
  • Improved self-esteem and body image
  • reduced PMS
  • Improved mood and greater self confidence

“If” is a word that denotes our ability to produce self control for a desired outcome. “If our society”, “If we could”…………..well why can’t we? We are the executives in charge of our lives and destiny.

Think natural, get out of the fast food line, have a plan so you can port better foods to your work place, or store better foods at home to grab and go. In the end, you can still enjoy the Treats…….the ”T” in your diet, if you pay more attention to the daily intake of foods that either creates….. or takes, Energy from you.

Remember the 5 P Formula: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

Fitness Together

619-794-0014

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Weight Loss Verses Weight Control-Four Tactics to Avoid

October 17, 2010 By
losing weight

AUDIO: Weight Loss vs Weight Control

In today’s society of weight loss reality television and glamour models with toothpick legs and flat stomachs on every magazine cover, people have become more obsessed with weight loss, instead of weight control. The first step in gaining the edge on weight control is to stop the fad diets and get into the grove of eating healthy and working out as a “lifestyle”. Begin with the great attitude that you did not “arrive” at where you are over night; therefore, you cannot “change” it all over night. Commit yourself to a program for at least 3 months in order to get long term results and ultimately make this new change, a lifestyle change. Haley M, who came to work with us, did just that. She started with a great attitude, which translated to her results, and gave her the life lessons to do it on her own. She is highlighted in our ad this month.

Avoid programs that promote these four tactics:

  1. WEIGHT LOSS WITHOUT EXERCISING – You must exercise in order to lose body fat and of course watch what you eat. If one just restricts their eating but does not change their habits, they will not gain control of their weight.
  2. FASTING – Avoid this. Cleansing of the body can be done without fasting. Fasting slows down your metabolism causing you to gain weight back more rapidly.
  3. IMPROPER FOOD PLANS – A good healthy eating plan will incorporate the proper amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. A plan that totally restricts your carbohydrates and depletes your energy is not good for you long term. You might have a marked drop in weight over the short term, but not have a sustainable “lifestyle” you can maintain.
  4. DOES NOT CHECK BODY FAT – A program that only determines progress by your weight on a scale, leaves out the important body composition results of fat percentages, body mass indexing and circumferences. Realistic and healthy weight loss is generally 1-2 pounds per week. A good plan will focus on fat loss, and limit lean tissue loss. Remember lean tissue requires calories to survive. The more lean tissue you have, the more calories you can burn, as lean tissue is “active”.

The significant problem for most people today is the lack of self-motivation to exercise. For some reason, out growing our blue jeans is not enough of an incentive to get moving. Unfortunately, many people are forced to get into an exercise routine because the doctor just hit them with your 45, overweight, and have high cholesterol- the three primary risk factors for heart disease. If you are a person who has a hard time getting motivated to workout, you find it boring or intimidating, or perhaps you have reached a plateau feeling as if you are spinning your wheels “on the bike” but getting no results- You are a prime candidate for a personal trainer.

Incorporating a “buddy system” through a personal trainer will accelerate your results, teach you new skills, help you stick to it, and improve not only your overall fitness, but your over all outlook on life. Be patient and put your mind to it. A good fitness plan that incorporates balanced nutrition, with challenging but fun workouts will get you weight control and the “look” that you want, while helping you live a healthier longer life. For more information contact Fitness Together at 619-794-0014.

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You’re kidding, there IS a pill for THAT?

October 2, 2010 By
weight loss pill

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AUDIO FOR THIS POST

As the government sets to begin reviews of new diet drugs, American obesity rates are nudging upwards in 28 states over the past year, a new report shows. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention reports that 68% of Americans are considered overweight or obese.

According to Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, “Back in 1991, not that long ago, not a single state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. More than two-thirds of states now have adult obesity rates above 25 percent,” There’s been a dramatic change in a relatively short period.” “Obesity is one of the biggest public health crises in the country,” Levi added. “Rising rates of obesity over past decades is one of the major factors behind skyrocketing health care costs in the U.S., one-quarter of which are related to obesity.”

A poll on childhood obesity included in the report found that 16.4 percent of children aged 10 to 17 are obese and 18.2 percent are overweight. The issue is at least getting on the radar, with 80 percent of Americans saying they believe “childhood obesity is a significant and growing challenge for the country.” As with adults, this puts children at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Solving the problem by throwing more quick fix diet drugs in to the market place is not the answer. As Americans we see the daily tirade of Drug Company ads. They come with significant sets of side effects accompanying the claimed benefit of taking the medication. Many of these side effects appear to eclipse the value of taking the prescription, as the side effect often reads worse than the malady itself.

While 70% of Americans claim to read nutrition labels, there is a disconnect given climbing obesity rates. Let’s get more detail behind what we are eating and a better understanding of nutrition labels and nutrition claims. Here are a few of those claims and what they really mean. After all they are marketing claims, aimed at drawing you in, but they can also be used to help you make the healthiest food choice possible and help keep you out of the prescription refill line at your local drugstore.

Low Calorie                  40 Calories or fewer

Low Fat                        Up to 3 grams

Fat Free                        Fewer then 0.5 grams

Trans Fat Free              Fewer than .5 grams of trans fat

Cholesterol Free          Fewer than 2 mg cholesterol and fewer than 2 grams saturated fat

Low Sodium                 Up to 140 mg of sodium

High Fiber                    5 grams or more

Good Source Of……..   10% to 19% of the Daily Value for a given nutrient

There is the “marketing” of the product and the reality of the product. The essentials of good health come down to what we eat and how we move. If we do less of the eating and more of the moving we will lose weight. We don’t need a pill for that. When we dig in to the reality of the pills, we’ll find the truth and the side effects of its consumption to be less than the quick fix bargain we hope for. Is it safe? Is it effective? Will there be consequences? Remember Phen Phen pulled in the late 90s? At its inception it was thought to be the holy grail of weight loss. Just good nutrition and daily exercise will do the trick. No pills, no negative side effects. To find out how to get started call Fitness Together 619 794 0014.

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