2008 Great Grundy County Weight Loss Challenge

Feb 11, 2008 | Area News, Headline News

This challenge has been an interesting experience. I have enjoyed hearing from so many people and having the opportunity to provide solid advice on ways to get healthy and fit.
There have been many different reactions to this contest. You will get out of it what you have put into it. That said; remember this is a marathon for life, not just a sprint for a prize. Everyone has set individual goals for themselves and have different reasons for doing so.
If you are on my super achiever team: Please be healthy and make smart choices. When we drastically change our routines we can set ourselves up for injury and compromise our immunity and health status. Large swings in weight affect many aspects of health and put stress on the body. It is possible to jeopardize your health by not losing weight safely or by allowing your body to change too quickly. The body is complex and it will promote self preservation. This can even be manifested in illness. Sickness can be the body’s way of communicating there is a problem. It will force you to slow down and meet its needs. So focus on the healthy ways you can meet your goals and ensure you put back into your body all you take out.
If you are on my start strong but gradually slow in progress: Do not get discouraged! We all go through tough spots and want to turn back. But don’t give up. You can do this! Just pare back on your efforts and hang it there. Even a few small changes are better than forgetting about it. Refocus and reevaluate, you may want to change your goals or perhaps you will want to push even harder! Just introduce yourself to our little friend MODERATION.
If you are on my hanging in there, steady and slow team: Keep plugging along. It may seem like others are having more success, but when you do it right, you have a better chance of keeping it off in the long term. Many people will lose the same 20 pounds over and over again. Stay focused and slowly add more healthy behaviors as you feel confident in your current efforts.
If you are on my failed to really get anything going team: The fact you are still reading this is proof you have not given up. Maybe the timing was just not right for your situation. Remember, it is never too late to get started making healthier choices! Let today be the focus of your efforts. What can you do today that makes a healthy choice? Then when tomorrow comes you can do the same thing. Take each day as it comes and don’t let several days gang up on you. Each day is a fresh start; actually each moment is a fresh opportunity to do better, so don’t chuck the days effort for a “perceived” failure in your plan. You can do this! Just get started…
I hope that by understanding more about the basics of healthy eating, exercise and mental preparedness that people will be empowered to make those small lifelong changes. Slow and steady wins the race! Based on my research and personal experiences I have developed my own (get real!) definitions to basic health concepts.
Here is some of my personal fitness dictionary:
Aerobic Exercise: Occurs when any group of large muscles move rhythmically for at least five minutes at a sufficient intensity or work level. This should cause the heart rate be consistently elevated. 20 minutes of sustained activity is the minimum standard to gain the most health benefit and produce the best results.
Aerobic Capacity: This refers to how efficiently your muscles use oxygen and convert fat into fuel. It is increased by regular sustained activity.
Steady State Metabolism: What your body switches to after 20 minutes of sustained exercise. During this time changes will occur that positively influence the body’s ability to function aerobically. (20-plus minutes = increased calorie burning potential and most overall benefits. SUPERBURN!)
Muscle Loss: What happens when people lose too much weight, too fast. By dieting alone, most people lose 25 to 30 percent of non-fat such as water, lean tissue, bone and muscle. The faster they lose, the less of what is lost comes from fat.
Metabolism: The rate at which your body burns calories for fuel. Influenced by activity level, genetics, age, medications, body composition, thyroid function and the amount of lean muscle you have. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Just 1 pound of muscle burns 35 to 50 more calories per day!
Weight Cycling: This is what occurs when rapid weight loss causes reduction in lean muscle. The resulting decreased metabolism causes the body to not burn calories as well as it did before dieting. As a result, eating normally again can cause even more weight gain than you had prior to the diet due to this decrease in metabolism.
Yo-Yo Diets: Restriction diets that cause people to lose weight fast at first but are so restrictive that people will not stick to them long term. This causes weight cycling and leads to ongoing issues with body image, weight gain, depression and discouragement.
Energy Balance: How much food energy you burn compared to how much you consume. Small but consistent imbalances of just 50 calories a day can add or subtract five pounds in a year. Over eating and or being under active causes us to store those calories we are unable to burn immediately as-fat.
Basal Metabolic Rate BMR: The energy you consume when you are awake but not using any calories to move. It reflects the work your body does to sustain life. This can be increased by 15 percent or more by building muscle and becoming more active.
Thyroid Function: This gland regulates metabolism by secreting a hormone called thyroxine. The amount you secrete is influenced by what you eat. If you consume fewer calories that your body burns your thyroid tries to compensate by cutting back on thyroxine: your metabolism slows down and you feel sluggish, so you do not move around as much (a self-defeating situation). This is a normal function designed to conserve body tissue during times of famine. Such extremes can cause BMR to plummet by as much as 30 percent. That is why you must not cut calories too drastically when trying to lose weight. It can backfire and also cause irritability and lack of energy.
Hypothalamus: Area in the brain that secretes hunger and satiety chemicals. These chemicals cause the push-pull people feel within the hunger and fullness cycle. These are stimulated by the type of foods, how much and how often we eat. They can be manipulated positively or negatively based on our choices.
Ghrelin: Hormone secreted by the stomach that sends hunger signals to the brain twice an hour, three times an hour when very hungry or dieting. This accounts for short term hunger. As the stomach fills these levels reduce as does the appetite.
CART: Leads the satiety chemicals in the brain and stimulates the hypothalamus to increase metabolism, reduce appetite, and increase insulin to deliver energy to muscle cells rather than to be stored as fat.
NPY: A protein called neuropeptide Y that drives the eating chemicals which have the opposite effect of CART on the hypothalamus; it decreases metabolism and increases appetite.
Leptin: A protein secreted by stored fat that reduces appetite and promotes a feeling of fullness and satisfaction in the long term.
CCK: A peptide produced in the gastrointestinal track that is released when your bowel senses fat. It delivers a short term, intense and direct message that indicates fullness.
Cortisol: Hormone secreted by adrenal glands in response to stress. It causes a negative chain of events in the body when excess cortisol is present due to chronic stress. Things like triggering abdominal fat storage, reduced insulin sensitivity, increased appetite, and it can start a cycle of stress induced eating. No wonder they say we must control our stress!!
Nutritional Supplements: Pills, powders or liquids containing vitamins, minerals, nutrients or enzymes. They are designed to make up for deficits in nutritional intake. Can be used in coordination with a proper diet to enhance optimum health and body functioning.
Minerals: They are found in food and are vital in the development of strength, fitness and growth of the body. Calcium, phosphorus, iodine and magnesium have specific daily requirements. Other essential minerals are potassium and sodium. There are also trace minerals or elements that are known to enhance proper nutrition.
Vitamins: Are components of food that are metabolized by the body for specific functioning. They are used by the body to promote optimal functioning. Can be supplemented, but works more efficiently when obtained through the food.
B Vitamins: It is a complex of some 11 known vitamin factors. They aid in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, to produce vital energy for the body and are water soluble. They are essential for the health of skin, hair, eyes, mouth and liver. They also contribute to the health of the nervous system.
Vitamin C: Is vital for many functions in the body. It is involved in immune system health and promotes collagen formation. It is a potent antioxidant, which helps fight free radicals, known to damage cells.
Vitamins A, D, E and K: These are fat soluble vitamins that support immune system function and provide antioxidant protection.
Antioxidants: These play a major role in protecting the body from harmful free radicals, which are destructive natural by-products of the body’s daily metabolism. Free radicals can also be caused by pollution, smoking, and the sun. These things can lead to premature aging.
Nutrients: Quality in food that your body uses for a specific purpose. Each is used differently by the body and processed in unique ways.
Simple Sugars: These are carbohydrates that are easily digested and that rapidly increase blood sugar levels. When sugar is quickly absorbed and sent to the liver for digestion, it tells your body to turn that sugar into fat if cannot be used immediately for energy. When consumed, they cause a short term and temporary energy boost which is followed by a rebounding effect that causes you to crave more to recreate the effect. Causing an energy spike and crash cycle.
Complex Carbohydrates: Foods such as whole grains take longer to digest. This means the body has longer to process it, making it less likely that it will get converted to fat. These foods also aid digestion and promote bowel regulation.
Protein: Is found in meats, eggs and dairy and is broken down into small amino acids, which then go to the liver. If they are not needed for muscle growth or maintenance they will get converted to glucose (sugar), which will then be converted to fat if you don’t use it for energy. It is necessary for red blood cell formation, muscle growth and maintenance. It decreases appetite by stabilizing blood sugar and promoting fullness.
Fat: It has many positive functions such as providing energy reserves and cushioning our organs and bones. It acts as insulation and it synthesizes estrogen and other hormones. However, it is calorie dense and whatever the body cannot not process immediately will be stored as fat. In the body it gets broken down into smaller pieces and is absorbed as fat. Good fats decrease your body’s inflammatory response and bad fats increase it. Muscles can use fat stores for energy when it has used up all the available carbohydrates.
Glycemic Index: A measure of how rapidly the carbohydrates in food are broken down and turned into sugar in the blood.
Resistance training: The purposeful contraction of muscles through exercise for the purpose of building strength, endurance and or tone. Builds lean muscle mass which boosts metabolism and energy. The #1 key to life long weight management and supports behavior changes needed for success. This includes calisthenics, weight training and isometric exercises.
Repetition Maximum RM: A 12 RM weight is a weight with which a person could perform 12 movements or reps in proper form. Shown to increase lean muscle mass. Six or fewer reps with greater weight will result in more muscle power with less mass. Fifteen plus RM will build muscle endurance with only minor strength gains.
Set: One series of RM. Frequently one to three sets are performed. This is determined based on desired goal and fitness level. One set of 12 RM is a good goal for beginners.
Proper Form: Each exercise is designed to work specific muscle groups. Proper form denotes that you are able to maintain the correct body positioning that will work the muscle in both the contraction and extension phases of the movement. Failure to do so will result in lack of desired definition and possible injury. Frequently have a knowledgeable person check your form and use a mirror to personally monitor position.
Flexibility: The body’s ability to move through a wide range of motion. Tight muscles lead to lack of flexibility and can increase your chance of injury when performing exercise or routine tasks.
Stretching: This should be done before exercise and routinely in your day. It warms the muscles and makes them more receptive to movement and less likely to be injured by the activity. It reduces tension in joints and muscles and decreases stiffness. It is often overlooked and under appreciated by those new to healthy lifestyles. It should be a cornerstone in any plan.
Mitochondria: Calorie burners in muscle cells that create ATP from the energy that we consume. In the cell compartment, they burn fat and sugar to fuel and feed muscle fibers and aid in general muscle maintenance.
ATP: It is the basic energy component of the human cell and the main fuel of muscle. It is used during resistance training and lasts less than 20 seconds. To develop strength 45-60 seconds of rest are required between sets. This allows enough of this fuel to be replenished to make strength gains.
Coenzyme Q10: It is responsible for energy conversion. It converts glucose (sugar) to ATP, the energy that powers your cellular functions. It has been shown to improve muscular performance and can help protect muscles from oxidative stress. This can be taken in supplement form. Muscular Endurance: The ability to perform less than an all-out effort for an extended period of time.
Muscle Strength: The ability to produce maximal force regardless of the duration involved in doing so.
Muscle Power: The ability to move as rapidly as possible or to overcome a resistance in the shortest possible time.
Muscle Response: Increased muscle tone occurs as a response to stress put on the muscle. It causes small tears in the muscle fibers. It is the repair of these small tears that will increase the tone and muscle fibers themselves. This occurs with sufficient rest and nutrition.
Functional Strength: The combination of basic strength abilities plus your coordination at applying that quality at a particular time. It is pivotal in improving balance and mobility.
Resting Heart Rate: It is an average of your heart rate when doing no activity. Usually taken in the morning before getting out of bed for several days and averaged.
Target Heart Rate: It is a percentage of exertion measured by taking your heart rate during exercise. It is based on your age and your pulse. It can help you determine the intensity of your effort.
Body Shape: Genetically determined shape your body would be at its ideal weight. It is due to the way your body stores excess weight in specific areas and not others. It is also determined by your skeletal structure. Shapes are often categorized as “apple”, “ruler”, “hourglass”, “pear” and “inverted triangle”. A healthy and fit form can minimize the appearance of these types but they cannot be totally altered by diet or exercise.
Body Mass Index: Is a calculation of body mass based on age, height and weight. It uses a formula to determine the number. The number is used as a way to track trends in a persons overall size. The numbers fall into categories meant to show people at risk for health problems due to their body mass. It is not a fail safe method. Individuals who have a large muscle mass due to weight lifting or genetics might have a false high number although they are very fit.
Body Fat Percentage: This is a measure of body composition. It can be obtained by measuring skin fold thickness with calipers, hydrostatic weighing or electrical impedance. The last one being seen frequently in scales and hand held devices. It helps determine your level of body fat which can be an indicator for many diseases and health problems.
Fat cells: The body’s containers for fat storage. They NEVER go away. They can only decrease in size or multiply.
As a person gets heavier, the more fat accumulates in his fat cells, filling them up from the usual 0.5 mcg of fat per cell to their capacity of 1.0 mcg. If that person gets any heavier at that point, the existing fat cells will be unable to accommodate the excess fat, causing the body to manufacture MORE fat cells-extra fat cells you can NEVER get rid of no matter how hard you diet.
Cellulite: It is an accumulation of fat cells that become visible due to a combination of poor muscle tone and loose skin. To reduce the appearance you can take measures to reduce body weight (i.e. diet and/or exercise) and performing toning exercise to increase the muscle mass. When muscle mass is strengthened through toning exercise it will diminish the look of the dimpling. The larger more toned muscle takes up some of the slack skin area and the reduction of body weight will reduce the size of the fat cells thus improving the appearance of the problem areas.
The Push-Pull Phenomenon: This is what happens you diet. Your body fights to release fat while, at the same time, your fat cells are constantly striving to fill themselves up with more fat. Your body perceives dieting as gradual starvation. Traditional dieting involves you deliberately withholding the body’s usual supply of nutrients and energy sources. The body will attempt to fight off this potentially dangerous depletion of energy stores by slowing down your metabolism and you may experience this as a weight loss slow down or plateau.
Set Point: The weight at which you body struggles to remain, regardless of the outside pressures on it to change. The body is designed to keep you healthy and protect you from starvation. The closer your get to your goal weight the more your body is going to cling to what is already there.
Weight Loss Formula: To lose one pound of fat in a week you must decrease your normal calorie intake by 500 calories a day or 3,500 per week. This can be done through diet or a combo of diet and burning calories through exercise (BEST).
Check out: Get REAL Guide to Health and Fitness at: www.pro-healthfit.blogspot.com; email me at [email protected] for questions.