I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of all of you. Keep it up!! Were you able to call up a fitness buddy/accountability partner this past week?
I thought we'd challenge ourselves this week by clearing our minds of all the diet rubbish we've acquired, teasing out the myths & pursuing the non-fiction. After all, we can't very well throw on a pair of spandex and call ourselves fitness gurus. Becoming healthy & fit takes practice, the application of hard truths and sweat-inducing regimens.
So, here's a little multiple choice test for you (welcome to my world):
1. Eating late at night makes you fat.
FALSE. calories count, whenever you eat them. As long as you are expending more than you consume, you can eat at 8am or 8pm, calories can't tell time.
- However, typically after the sun goes down your motivation does too, meaning you're more likely to hit up the snack drawer as opposed to fresh fruits & veggies. Be mindful. If late night snacking in front of the TV is a stumbling block, avoid it!!
2. Crash dieting leads to weight-loss.
This may be true in the short term, but ultimately FALSE. In order for your body to remain upright it needs a certain amount of calories (your basal metabolic rate). When you fast & deprive your body of vital nutrients, you experience water & muscle loss...but those pounds will inevitably find their way back to your hips, so beware!! Long-term weight-loss is a result of gradually building muscle & eliminating unnecessary calorie consumption.
3. A moment of weakness (that chocolate bar you ate when no one was looking) caused the 5lb. increase on the scale.
FALSE. While a series of weak moments may be to blame, weight gain happens gradually. 3,500 calories = 1 pound. Observe your eating patterns, what are you munching on unnecessarily? How can you burn calories throughout your day? Be aware.
- Don't deprive yourself of what you crave. While sugars and salts shouldn't be in your daily eating plan, budget a day when you can treat yourself. Dieting research has shown that when you severely restrict your eating regimen, you'll often binge on the bad stuff. Don't let that happen! Remember, you are in control. The size of your jeans is up to you!!
4. "Low-fat" foods are better for you.
often FALSE. Read & re-read labels!! Most often foods marked as 'low-fat' have a greater number of calories, sodium, and sugar. You're often better with the original product. Don't be fooled my marketing ploys. Remember: all fat is not bad (ex: nuts - omega 3's, protein, & filling fiber).
- Fun fact: the FDA has no requirement for the label "natural". Meaning, any food company that wants to make you (the yearning health fanatic) the victim can slap the label on their product EVEN IF IT'S NOT!! Next time you read "all natural" think twice.
5. I can increase my metabolism.
TRUE. Your body has a rhythmic metabolism, as a result of your activity level, food consumption, & metabolic rate requirements but it's not a stagnant component (it's different for every body). You can:
- drink cold water constantly (your body burns more calories warming it to body-temp)
* not only will you stay hydrated, but you'll save calories. So often we mistake thirst for hunger.
- drink green tea
- move it, move it, move it
* exercise gets your blood & organs pumping. The higher your activity level, the harder your body works.
- increase your fiber count
* the daily dose of fiber for an active woman is 25 grams. (keep a Food and Exercise journal).
- season your foods with cumin, cayenne pepper, and other spices
6. The best way to shrink and tone hips, glutes, or abs is to perform isolated exercises targeting those areas. FALSE. It is physiologically impossible to spot reduce. You can’t lose only in one area of the body because body fat comes off all over the body. The route to success for those stubborn hips is resistance exercise, cardio & supplemental nutrition.
7. Skipping meals saves calories.
FALSE. Studies show that skipping meals almost guarantees overeating later in the day. If you're starving your body it'll conserve fat deposits (ew. that doesn't sound good!!) Eat a little (healthy) something every 4 hours.
* rule of thumb: the healthiest items are the ones you can find on the outside edge of the grocery store.
Which Diet Crimes are you guilty of:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.
In parting, I want to inspire all of you to make healthful substitutions this Thanksgiving. Tradition doesn't need to compromise your newly revised fitness/nutrition lifestyle. Thanksgiving is about celebrating togetherness & family.
The TODAY show will help us save 3,500 calories (a pound) this Thanksgiving:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/
challenge: make the holiday about family, not food.
Happy Thanksgiving Girls!!
NMC
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