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When I started out in this whole fitness thing, almost four years ago now, I was around 280 to 290lbs. I was completely out of shape and couldn’t run to save my life. These days I’m 215lbs and in great shape. My body fat percentage is right around the upper edge of the healthy range. Still, I’ve always wanted to lose those last 15 lbs and get to 200. So this is it, today is when I start doing that. I made a plan and I’ll stick to it, three more minor changes to implement in my life and hopefully those will do the trick. I guess we’ll see as the weeks go by.

And with that, here are this week’s useful articles:

We talked about negative calorie foods and crazy diets recently. Here’s an idea that combines a little of both. I’m sorry, but if you think drinking a lot of cold water is going to make a big difference in your life, you’re just wrong. 1 calorie can heat up 1 liter of water by 1 degree centigrade. So you’re going to need to drink a lot of VERY cold water if you hope to make even a small dent in that candy bar you just ate. Wouldn’t you rather take a walk?
@That’s Fit

And while we’re on the topic of diets that make little sense, here’s a piece about the Atkins diet and the things it can do to your body. Please note that I think the Atkins diet does have some benefits to it. I think we eat too many refined carbs and the Atkins diet is great in removing that from our diet, but people who treat Atkins as an excuse to never eat vegetables while eating unlimited amount of meat are doing themselves harm.
@Reuters

And let’s finish up these crazy diet links with an article from Mark’s Daily Apple about the only diet that really works. It’s short but sweet and very useful.
@Mark’s Daily Apple

Off topic of crazy diets, here’s some information from the Diet Blog about the difference between dark meat and white meat. This is the kind of nutritional information I like. It’s easy to understand, makes sense and can be really useful when you’re trying to make healthy choices.
@The Diet Blog

And before I forget, big thank you to Fit Buff and The Positive and Successful Life Tips blog for featuring 60 in 3 articles in their carnivals this week.

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It’s Friday, almost time for the weekend. So here are three quick to do’s for this weekend that will keep you healthy and entertained.

Farmers’ Market

Find the nearest Farmers’ Market and go there. Take your wife or your husband, perhaps a few friends, and go enjoy the market. Make a morning out of it. Shop for some fresh produce and then have lunch with whoever you went with. Farmers’ Markets are a great place to find cheap and fresh vegetables and fruit. Stock up on your favorites and don’t forget to try something new. The stalls at a market will usually let you sample stuff so if you see a fruit or vegetable you never heard of, try it and see if you like it. Who knows, you might find a new favorite.

For more information about local farmers’ markets, check out your city’s website or Local Harvest.

Go Dancing

Another great social activity for this weekend.  Grab your friends and go to your nearest club, bar or dance hall.  It doesn’t matter what kind of dancing or what kind of music, it’s all good.  From salsa to ballroom, folk to line, dancing is a great exercise and a very fun activity.  If you’re single, dancing can be a great place to meet people and if you’re not single, dancing can be a great activity to do with a partner.  Most dance halls or clubs with specialized forms of dancing like salsa or line dancing will offer classes for beginners earlier in the evening.  So show up early, learn to move your feet, and then stay for the rest of the night.

Take A Walk

And finally, the best activity of all.  Even if you live in areas that are getting a bit cold these days, you can still take a walk.  Many malls and stores open early on weekends just to allow people to walk for some exercise.  So leave the credit cards in the car and just walk through checking out store fronts and people.  This is a simple activity you can do with friends or by yourself

Summary

There you go, three simple but fun activities that will make your weekend enjoyable AND healthy.

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I’ve finally found a way to banish those stupid “lose 100lbs in 3 days” ads from 60 in 3. It’s always bothered me that they were there, even as I was telling people not to use them. So you should hopefully see less and less of them as time go by. If you do see one, please send me an email or post a comment with the URL it points to.

Thank You,

Gal

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Someone recently asked me what my thoughts on the lemonade diet are. Well, my answer was “I have no clue, never even heard of it.” Still, they were a friend so I did some research.

We’re off to a bad start

The first site I found was a commercial one claiming to be the official site of the lemonade diet. The site promised a lot but delivered very little. It seemed to be setup mainly to sell you stuff, which is not a good sign. However, here’s what this site and a few others claimed the diet can do:

The iet consists of fasting to rid the body of toxins, created by improper diet, lack of exercise and negative mental attitudes. The purpose of the Lemonade Diet is to dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion; to cleanse the kidneys and digestive system; to purify glands; to eliminate waste and hardened materials in the joints and muscles; to build a healthy bloodstream; to maintain optimal blood pressure; and to what you all are waiting to hear... to lose weight. As a reducing diet it is superior in every way, reducing fat at a rate of about two (2) pounds a day for most persons, without harmful side effects.

I don’t know about you, but anytime I hear a list of benefits like this, I get a bit suspicious.  So I dig a little deeper.

The plot thickens!

Turns out that the lemonade diet consists of the following:

• Drink a lot of laxative tea
• Drink a lot of saline wash (water and salt)
• Drink a lot of lemonade

Are you kidding me?  This is your diet?

Wake up call

Yes, if all you consume is laxative tea, salt water and lemonade, you will lose weight.  Heck, you can reduce that to just drinking the lemonade and I bet you’ll still lose weight.  I just don’t see how this can possibly be beneficial.  None of the sites I found had any sort of science backing them.  They all just talked and talked about how this will “cleanse” and “reduce” and provided no real facts.  They also all tried to sell me something, which really tends to set off some alarm bells in my head.

Should you do the lemonade diet?

No, absolutely not.  Are you crazy?  Did you not just read the above paragraph?   I’ll be dead and insane before I even begin to think of a regimen of laxatives, salt water and lemonade as a healthy diet.  Hey, how about the heroin diet while you’re at it?  I hear heroin addicts are real thin!  I just don’t understand why people buy into these “insta solutions” without really looking at what they’re doing to their bodies.

You want a healthy lemonade diet?  Here’s one.  Eat healthy and balanced meals.  Exercise on a regular basis and drink some natural, unsweetened lemonade after your work out.  There you go, a healthy lemonade diet.  Of course, you could remove the lemonade and still have a healthy diet, but shush, no one needs to know that.  We’ll call that the “super duper 60 in 3 miracle lemonade diet.”  Maybe I could get Oprah to endorse it…

Summary

Stick to what you know works, healthy eating and plenty of physical activity, and stay away from “miracle” diets that promise the world and deliver only laxatives and overpriced maple syrup.

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I’ve had a few comments over the past few weeks that make me wonder if people understand what fat really is, not to mention what my opinion of it is. For example, a few days ago, someone commented on my cancer prevention post. The commenter said that reducing fat is a bad idea, to which I say, maybe…

What is fat?

First of all, let’s understand a bit more about fat. A quick trip to wikipedia gives us this definition:

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Although the words “oils“, “fats” and “lipids” are all used to refer to fats, “oils” is usually used to refer to fats that are liquids at normal room temperature, while “fats” is usually used to refer to fats that are solids at normal room temperature. “Lipids” is used to refer to both liquid and solid fats. The word “oil” is used for any substance that does not mix with water and has a greasy feel, such as petroleum (or crude oil) and heating oil, regardless of its chemical structure.

Not a bad definition overall. There’s more over at Wiki if you want to read about fat’s chemical makeup. You can find the entire entry here, but this is enough for our purposes.

Can fat be good?

Are there benefits to fat?  You bet!  Here’s quick list, again from Wikipedia.

• Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats. Fats are sources of essential fatty acids, an important dietary requirement.
• Fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. They also serve as energy stores for the body. Fats are broken down in the body to release glycerol and free fatty acids. The glycerol can be converted to glucose by the liver and thus used as a source of energy.
• Fat also serves as a useful buffer towards a host of diseases. When a particular substance, whether chemical or biotic — reaches unsafe levels in the bloodstream, the body can effectively dilute — or at least maintain equilibrium of — the offending substances by storing it in new fat tissue. This helps to protect vital organs, until such time as the offending substances can be metabolized and/or removed from the body by such means as excretion, urination, accidental or intentional bloodletting, sebum excretion, and hair growth.

Yes, fat is absolutely a vital part of your diet.  Furthermore, fat is a good thing to have in your body, within reason.  Many people obsess about weight loss and their body fat level.  They think that removing as much fat as possible from their bodies is good.  However, fat not only serves  a number of important nutrition roles, it’s also your body’s store of emergency energy.

Remember, we evolved in an environment in which food was scarce.  Sometimes our ancestors had plenty of food and sometimes they had none.  So fat is our body’s way of taking the excess from times of plenty and storing it for times of famine.  If you reduce your body’s fat level by too much, your systems will start shutting down.  This is your body’s way of protecting itself from spending too much energy and running out.  The first few systems it will shut down are relatively nonessential.  For example, reproductive systems are the first to go.  Your body will also reduce your overall energy levels in an attempt to conserve energy for when you really need it.  This in turn leads to a lower number of calories burned per day which is counter to what you’re probably trying to achieve.  So yes, fat is absolutely necessary as a part of your diet and as a part of your body.

So why does fat have such a bad reputation?

Even though fat does have a whole host of important functions, we’ve come to see it as our enemy in matters of fitness and nutrition.  Why is that?  Well, there are two reasons that I can see.

First, we eat and store too much of it.  Our ancestors may have evolved in an environment of scarce resources, but most people in developed countries live in an environment where food is plentiful.  That means we no longer live in times where famine is just a day away.   So we eat too much food in general and too much fat specifically.  Remember, our bodies evolved to see fat as good.  It was a source of easy and useful calories.  They’re still thinking like it’s a few hundred years ago and they’re telling our brains “mm… fat is tasty!  Eat more of it so I can store some more in case of an emergency.”  So we overindulge and we overeat and we gain weight.  This leads us to store too much fat.

The second problem is our source of fat.  We get most of our fat these days from processed meats, candy bars and other such junk food.  All fat is not in fact created equal and fat from these sources is not as good as fat from healthier sources like lean meats, nuts, fish and such.

So how much fat is right?

There’s a wide variety of opinions out there, but for adult men who are fit and healthy, the right amount is probably around 13% to 18%.  For adult women who are fit and healthy, that number is somewhere between 20% and 25%.  That number will vary according to your athletic level, body type and a few other variables.  If you want to know where you should aim for, go and see a doctor or a professional dietitian.  They can work with you to determine what’s the right amount of fat for your body.

What are good sources of fat?

I already mentioned a few, but here’s a quick list:

• Lean, unprocessed meats like fish, venison and others.
• Nuts
• Unprocessed vegetable oils like olive oil

By the way, about 20% to 30% of your daily calories should come from fat.
Summary

I do not and will not advocate removing all fat from your diet.  I am not a fan of the low fat diet and don’t think people should follow it.  Fat is a vital part of a healthy diet.  I just think people are eating too much of it from too many bad sources.  Fix those issues and fat can once again be your body’s ally instead of an enemy.

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Today’s post is courtesy of a friend of mine who is currently training for the Boston Marathon.  He passed along some tips that he’s found useful over the years for marathon training.

Find a partner or coach - This is one of the most important things you’ll do.  You’re going to need someone to measure your time, remind you of workouts, provide motivation to get out of bed and run by your side as you train.  It’s great if you can find someone willing to act as your coach.  They don’t have to be a professional coach since you’re not a professional marathon runner, they just need to be able to read a chart, understand a spreadsheet and yell out times.  It’s even better if your coach plans on running the marathon with you.

Write up a training plan - There are a variety of them available online but here’s a sample that my friend used for training for a half marathon:

• Week 1 - one 6.0 mile run on trail, one 4.0 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 2 - one 6.0 mile run on trail, one 4.0 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 3 - one 7.0 mile run on trail, one 4.5 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 4 - Break
• Week 5 - one 7.0 mile run on trail, one 4.5 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 6 - one 8.0 mile run on trail, one 5.0 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 7 - one 9.0 mile run on trail, one 5.5 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 8 - Break
• Week 9 - one 10.0 mile run on trail, one 6.0 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 10 - one 11.0 mile run on trail, one 6.5 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 11 - one 12.0 mile run on trail, one 7.0 mile run on track and one day of intervals.
• Week 12 - Break
• Week 13 - Half Marathon.

A few things of note here.  First, he took break weeks.  These are very important since long distance running puts quite a bit of stress on your body.  Breaks are important to allow your body to recover.  Second, intervals are where you work on your speed.  In general, he did half the distance he would on that week track run while working on intervals, but he did it at a much faster pace.  Third, try to constantly improve on your time on the track run.  This is the one where you’re really measuring yourself and your coach should be there with you in the center of the track letting you know how you’re doing and what you need to change.

Set a goal - Figure out ahead of time what time you’re aiming for and then train to achieve that time.  Be realistic but don’t forget to challenge yourself.  If you find out during training that you can easily achieve that goal, maybe you should set it higher.  However, don’t undertrain.  That is, if you set a goal for a certain pace or time, why are you training to set a slower time or run a slower pace?

Follow your plan - Don’t deviate from your plan.  It’s too easy to get caught up in the “oh, I’ll just run an extra day this week” mentality.  Don’t do it.  Your training should be nice and constant and should NOT overwork your body.  Three strenuous runs in a week is more than enough.   At the same time, commit to your plan and don’t miss any days.  Let your friends and family know what you’re doing and make sure they’re aware of your new schedule.  Best time to train by the way is in the morning.  There are less demands on your time at 6am.

Walk the course - The week before the marathon, walk or bike the course.  You want to get a feel for how tough it is and driving it in a car just doesn’t do that.  Note the hills, the rough surfaces, the steps, portions that will be in direct sunlight and anything else that might affect your performance.  I know someone who paces his Hawaii marathon running to always stay in the shade of the mountain.  Little things like this can make a big difference.

Test out your gear - The gear you plan to run in should be the gear you’re training in.  Worse thing you can do is buy new gear and not use it until the day of the race.  Running shoes have to be broken in and you don’t want to do that while running a marathon.  Shirt fabrics might be too scratchy or too warm and you want to find that out early.  Running shorts or pants might be too constrictive.  All of these things should be found out ahead of time.

Enjoy the run - Too many people do marathons just to say they’ve done them.  You’re missing the point if you do this.  Marathons are experienced to be enjoyed, not suffered through.  If you’re miserable while running a marathon than perhaps you should pick a different challenge for yourself.

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I watched Supersize Me last night. It’s an older movie (2004) but still very valid. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s the story of a man who decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days. Each day, Morgan, the movie’s maker, eats McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner. His diet can include nothing that’s not on the McDonald’s menu and he has to go through every single item on the menu within the 30 days. He supersizes only if asked by the counter person. Morgan also changed his activity habits to reflect those of the average American. He didn’t exercise and only walked a half mile to a mile every day.

Professional Help

Morgan enlisted the help of a cardiologist, a hepatologist, a dietitian and a general practitioner to help track his health. They tested Morgan for a variety of things, including cholesterol, weight, heart pressure and general fitness. Throughout the 30 days, they update their findings and monitor Morgan’s health while reporting on the changes to his body.

Disclaimer

Before we go on, let’s have a moment of sanity. Most people do not eat McDonald’s three times a day. However, quite a few of us do eat junk food for most of our meals. Morgan’s 30 days may be a stunt, but they’re not that far off from many American and Western diets. Morgan rarely bought multiple items for a single meal, which many people do. Morgan did not binge on candy and soda between meals, which many people do. Morgan even had a few of the lower calorie options McDonald’s has, like fish or salads. Never mind the fact that many of these options are almost as bad as a Big Mac. So while Morgan’s 30 days are not exactly an accurate representation of the American Diet, I personally think he’s not that far off.

Results

As expected, Morgan’s health and body crash at an alarming pace. In 30 days he puts on more than 20lbs. His cholesterol levels shoot up to a dangerous level within two weeks and his doctor is warning him of permanent liver damage 20 days into the movie. I think we all could see this coming, but it is a bit frightening to see it happen at such a rapid pace.

Obvious Lessons Learned

• Fast food is bad - The obvious one is that fast food, and McDonald’s specifically, is bad for you. I think we all knew that one already.
• Calorie Counts - Listen carefully to what the dietitian is saying. Morgan’s diet of three McDonald’s meal deals per day provides him with 5000 calories. FIVE THOUSAND! I don’t think most people are aware of just how many calories are in those meals. If you’re going to have one, at least don’t drink those giant sodas and forego the fries.
• Sodas - Again, most people don’t think about these but they come up again and again during the movie. At the end of the movie, the dietitian shows Morgan just how much sugar he had during those 30 days and it’s a scary sight. Most of it came from sodas. In fact, she even asks him repeatedly during the movie to stop drinking them.
• Exercise Is Good - This movie is mostly about what we eat, but note that one of Morgan’s life changes for these 30 days is limited his activity level. Remember, it’s not just about your diet, it’s also about getting and keeping your body moving.

The Less Obvious Lessons

• Parenting Tips - If you’re a parent, get involved in your child’s diet. They’re getting bombarded by advertisement at home, at the movies and even at school. Get their school to start offering healthier meals. Eliminate junk food from your family outings. There’s quite a bit of evidence that shows healthier eating means better test scores, less behavior problems and better long term health.
• Political Issues - Yes, politics does enter into the picture. I dislike people who think the government should regulate everything. I believe in personal responsibility and allowing people to make their own decisions. However, at the moment, our government is doing all it can to make things easier for food companies, not us. Get involved. Educate yourself about the issue and drive towards change.
• Fast Food Is Addictive - This is true of most bad food. Our bodies get addicted to it and make it very difficult for us to quit consuming it. Your body is quite literally addicted to the sugar, fat and caffiene in those fast food meals. Admit it and then do something about it. And don’t tell me you can stop anytime you want. If you could, why haven’t you? Get help, get a plan together, get whatever it is you need to but do something. You know you have a problem so start working on solving it.

I’d highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in health, diet and modern American culture. It should not be used as a scientific study, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

For more information on it, look here. If you wish to purchase it, here’s the Amazon link: Super Size Me

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