Gravity

This year has been one that I'll look back on as one of two or three truly pivotal years in my life.

I've learned more about myself than I have during almost any other year of my life. I've felt pain and I've caused others pain. I've brought joy and helped some people find a deeper, richer sense of purpose and I'm finding that myself, slowly. True self-exploration is rarely graceful or comfortable. But, looking back over a tumultuous time in one's life, there is a quiet, powerful reward that validates the process, however painful or difficult: It's the unmistakable sense that, even with the turmoil and upheaval, you wouldn't go back to who you were before it all happened.

When you're in the midst of it, though, you can feel adrift - rootless - even completely lost. But just as you feel you may break apart, that's when you feel a pull. It may be your friends, your family, your work or some other source. There will be a reminder of your intrinsic worth, your connectedness to everything that means anything to you. And that gravity will pull you through.

So, with your feet firmly on the ground, drawing deep within yourself, know that you are loved - and that you are love. Everything else is just another lesson we're here to learn. Be patient with yourself. Forgive yourself and others. And know that you are a part of something beyond your imagination, and that something is everything - and it's incomplete without you.

So surrender to the gravity.

* * * *

Three Ways to Make New Years Eve Safer and Healthier:

1. Prepare a veggie tray with either hummus or dip made with 2% fat Greek yogurt (Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) to take to the party, or to serve if you're the one hosting. Eat a good amount of this before sampling other foods. If you're going out for dinner first, have a salad with lean meat.

2. Have a full 8oz (or larger) glass of water before each drink of a more "celebratory" nature.

3. As the evening progresses, ask yourself if the way you feel at that moment is the way you want to end the year. If not, do something else that feels "right".

Blessings and love to all of you. Thank you for making this blog a success and for letting me be a part of the healthy changes in your life.

Eat NU~DE: Fruit and Veggies with Fat (and Protein)

Does eating fat make you fat?

We get fat from eating excess calories. And there are lots of ways to end up with too many calories at the end of the day. Here are some popular ones:

• Too little or too mild exercise (or both)


• Eating too much, or too late in the day (or both)


• Eating lots of empty calories from excess fat and sugar (the opposite of eating NU~DE, or NUtrient-DEnse)


• Skipping breakfast and creating a blood-sugar roller coaster throughout the day (making your body breakdown muscle tissue when you don't have enough carbohydrates and encouraging binging by creating urgent, powerful cravings when blood sugar levels drop quickly and deeply)

Fat gets a bad rap because of the connection between, primarily, excessive amounts of saturated (mostly animal source) fats and cardiovascular disease. There are heart healthy fats from sources like olives, fish and nuts. And small amounts of other fats can be easily and healthfully integrated with a lifestyle that includes regular moderately challenging-to-vigorous exercise and a nutrient-dense diet with controlled portions, and frequent, evenly spaced meals and snacks.

But here's an important consideration:

As you become more fit and are burning more and more calories throughout the day (my run-rate is about 2500-3000), and you start to clean up your diet, you're going to get hungrier, and more often. The reason is that you will start to feel more comfortable just being satisfied, rather than full, and the food you eat (like fruits and veggies, which should make up nearly half of the volume of your daily intake) will have fewer calories for the same volume you used to consume. That can be a problem with eating veggies alone. I've snacked on carrots, snap peas and baby tomatoes (I call the combo a "pocket salad") and have been almost as hungry when I'm done as before I started.

When you eat fruit by itself, it can bring up your blood sugar pretty quickly, satisfying you for a short time, but when your blood sugar drops, it can actually make you feel hungrier than before you ate!

That's where a little fat comes in handy.

Combining fruit or veggies with nuts or cheese is a great way to slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. It also carries you for longer and causes a more gradual drop in blood sugar, making your hunger for your next meal come on more slowly and with less severity. A bonus with this trick is getting some additional protein, which has a similar effect that fat does on your blood sugar, but with more nutrient-density and fewer calories.

Here are some of my favorite combinations:

Apples with cheese sticks

Celery with peanut butter

Pocket salad with mixed nuts

Banana with almonds

Broccoli and cauliflower dipped in hummus

Try some of these combinations for a satisfying, healthful late-day snack and notice how it reduces your dinner appetite, helping you to scale back your intake as the day closes. This is a great way to trim a few hundred calories each day (and a few dozen pounds in a year.)

* * * *

Watch tomorrow for three great tips to keep your New Years Eve fun from setting your program back too much!

Full Yet..?

Eating is the most basic thing in the world to do. So how come we do it so poorly? I'm not just talking about the less-than-wise choices we all make from time to time (or, for some, nearly every time). At least as big a problem for many is how much we eat. Eating satisfies a number of biological urges (energy; nutrients for basic functions, growth and repair; taste and texture, etc.) But we've also created a culture in which eating is about status, reward, acceptance, comfort, celebration, community and even guilty, hedonistic pleasure.

One of the best ways to cut through this self-imposed mental filter is to ask yourself these questions before you eat:

1. Am I truly hungry? (Does my body need food right now?)
2. Is this the food that will provide my body with what it really needs at this moment?
3. Do I really need as much as I think I want?

Just stopping for a few seconds to consider whether you're eating for fuel or pleasure, whether you're taking in high quality fuel or dollar store garbage, and how you might feel after eating half or less of what you are prone to pile onto your plate, will go a long way to making you more conscious about eating.

And consciousness is the key to controlled eating.

Why?

Because you can't eat poorly and kid yourself you're doing anything else if you are considering those factors first. You have to make an informed, considered decision about what you're eating and how much, rather than eating impulsively and feeling like you blew it afterward. And then you'll know that eating wisely just isn't important enough to you to do it - yet. But the more you are conscious about what you're doing, the sooner you'll start doing what you really believe you should be doing.

I've already provided a good deal of information (but there's lots more to come) in previous posts about good quality fuel and how to determine what is and what isn't so great. Today, let me give you five tips to keep portion sizes under control:

1. Eat small amounts of healthful food frequently throughout the day to keep your blood sugar more stable - it dramatically reduces the number, severity and urgency of cravings.

2. Drink water between and before meals, instead of caloric beverages (especially sugary ones). It helps metabolize fat and keep you from eating moist or fatty foods when you're really more thirsty than hungry.

3. Never take a bite so big that your cheeks pooch out like a chipmunk hording nuts for future meals.

4. Put the flatware down between bites (no need to have a bite "on deck".)

5. Take less than half on your plate than you think you need. Eat that slowly and then wait five minutes before going back for another round. Ask yourself the questions above before you get seconds. If you still do, take less than half of what you did before.

If you want to be aware of unproductive or self-sabotaging habits, notice the way you feel during the actions and immediately afterward. A wise person who once helped me out at a time I really needed it said these profound words to me:

"You need to do things that make you proud of yourself!"

He was right. Gain dominion over your eating habits through conscious eating and following these simple disciplines. It can change not just your body - but your life.

Back In Shape

It happened so fast.

There wasn't even a split second to turn my body or get my hands underneath me to break the fall. Suddenly I was flat on my back, and the pain (or maybe it was the force of the impact - or a little of both) took my breath away. I tried to stand up right away, but couldn't, so I was doubled over trying to get a few seconds to collect myself. The first thought that occurred to me was how I was going to get everybody home. I had driven three hours from my home to take my boys and a friend of my older son's to the snow. I was with my younger son, my six year old, in the kids section of a South Lake Tahoe ski resort when I tried to step down from a small, icy snow embankment where he was playing. Both my feet slipped out in front of me on the hard-packed ice and I came down full-force directly on my upper spine. Honestly, it felt like someone had hit me vertically between my shoulder blades with a baseball bat. When an attendant who had witnessed the fall (and, I'm sure, heard whatever bizarre but clearly distressed sounds that came out of me) rushed over to ask if I needed help, I couldn't even answer him right away. I was barely aware of my immediate surroundings (except my equally concerned little boy's voice which, reassuringly, verified his presence and proximity for me) and I felt a little bit sick to my stomach.

When I caught my breath and was able to straighten up, the next thing that ran through my mind was the very real possibility that I had damaged my back seriously. The pain was starting to ebb now, but even my chest hurt when I took a deep breath. And any bouncing or hard stepping felt like someone grinding their heel directly into the point of impact. As the next few hours unfolded, I was gradually, mercifully, a bit more comfortable.

This happened yesterday at about 10:30AM.

Today I can still feel some stiffness in my upper back, especially when I pull my chin down or look up toward the ceiling (nothing that great to look at up there anyway!) But it's not much different than if I had fallen asleep in bed reading with my head against the headboard and my chin against my chest. Stiff? Yes. Painful? A little bit. Serious? Doubtful.

Do I consider myself lucky? Damn straight. It could easily have been my head that hit first. But while I'm grateful that the fall wasn't more serious, I'm equally appreciative of my body's ability to heal itself - it's resiliency. And that's where all the hard work I've done over the years keeping myself in shape has paid off in quiet, but tremendously important ways. Sure, I'm much happier with the way my body looks than I would otherwise be in my mid-forties. In fact, My body looks better than it has at any point in my life. But who cares, really? I'm able to run down the block with my three year old daughter piggy back to pick up my son from school. Then we swing on the monkey bars and jump down from the play structure. Most of my contemporaries (and many more than ten years my junior) are nursing at least one long-term progressive injury, some moderately limiting condition or at the very least, possess a mere fraction of the strength and stamina they used to enjoy.

It doesn't have to be that way. Do you want it to be different? It's hard, but incredibly satisfying work - this physical fitness stuff. And you have to eat what your body needs, not just what your tongue feels like tasting all the time. But the rewards are priceless.

Think about it. Would you like your body to be better to you? It feels the same about you, and wants to make your wish come true.

You know the next step.

Eat NU~DE: Whole Grains

Why whole grains? Because they are packed with fiber and that helps you eat and digest more slowly, giving your body time to register the sense of satiety. This makes you less likely to over eat at a sitting. There are a number of additional health benefits as well, like lowering your risk for heart disease and minimizing constipation. Little things like that.

Whole grains are pretty easy to distinguish from their refined counterparts since they tend to be darker and more texturally dense. Most whole grains will crumble when you squeeze them, rather than gel into a lump of something resembling play dough.

What kinds of whole grains are good? There are lots of choices but here are some of my favorites:

Oatmeal
Brown rice
Whole wheat pita bread
Grapenuts cereal
Shredded wheat cereal
Whole grain pasta
Granola

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I advocate eating whole grains earlier, rather than later in the day. Here's why:
http://45yearold6pack.blogspot.com/2007/12/fitness-magazine-cover-model-ab-secret.html

I always include whole grains for breakfast and lunch, and usually for at least one snack. I'm a big fan of whole grain breakfast cereals that come in chunks, like shredded wheat and oat squares, because they're easy to pour into a bowl and eat dry while you're at the computer or throw in a baggie when you're on the run. And granola is great on yogurt or even cottage cheese as a protein and fiber-rich snack.

I also make soup with whole grain pasta and pasta salad with lots of veggies and chicken apple sausage. Watch the blog for a future post with my world famous (or at least in my own little world) oatmeal and cottage cheese power pancakes.

Just for reference, cheetos, cheeze-its and white bread don't count as whole grains - they're refined and don't share the same great qualities that whole grains do.

So refine your choices - not you grains.

* * * *

I'll be taking the next few days off for the holidays. Enjoy your loved ones who are near and send a silent prayer to the ones who are far away (or just call them!)

Snack Late in the Day to Lose Fat

Have you ever been at a party with a buffet for several hours,nibbling lightly as the time passed, never feeling quite full or hungry? That's the ideal situation for your body, which, with the exception of sleeping (when energy needs drop significantly) and post-workout calorie replenishment needs (where the calorie requirements peak), uses energy at a pretty consistent pace throughout the day.

That's why most authoritative weight loss sources advocate eating small amounts frequently throughout the day, rather than loading up just a few times as we've cultured ourselves to do for convenience and social reasons. The thing is, most people find this one of the hardest habits to cultivate if they're used to three or fewer meals each day. So let me give you a great place to start: Breakfast. It doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as a hard boiled egg, a hand full of grapes and some dry cereal in a baggie on your way out the door. I'll be giving you lots of ideas for quick, convenient and healthy breakfasts in future posts.

But let's assume you already eat breakfast. The most likely area you have to improve is that block of time between lunch and dinner when you can get busy and go several hours without eating. Guess what happens as a result? You end up eating more at supper than you need and craving high calorie foods because the message you're sending your body is that the energy supply is going to be unpredictable - so it had better store for the future. And you know where that gets stored, right?

Here's the solution:

Create a calorie shortfall by eating a very light dinner of mostly veggies and a little lean protein. How can you do that and possibly be satisfied. You have to eat light enough at lunch so that you're hungry between 3:30pm and 5:00pm. Somewhere around that time, eat a snack of fruit or veggies with cheese or nuts. That way you get, in a healthy package, the three elements that hold your blood sugar stable for longer: fat, protein and fiber. And that, in turn, will blunt your appetite for dinner. And now the dinner I described above will actually do it for you.

See?

Give it a try - it works. And watch the scale start to tell you happy stories...

Exercise Tip: Fluidity for Safety and Effectiveness

At 45, I'm in the best shape of my life. And I was an athlete in high school (yes, I consider springboard diving a real sport!) I boxed a little in my twenties and I still teach boxing, although, besides some moderated contact work with my intermediate and advanced boxing students, I rarely spar anymore.

So how can I say I know for sure that I'm in the best shape of my life?

Because of my body composition, strength, flexibility and stamina. They're all better than ever. So, the thinning grey hair hasn't been a hindrance at all! But what has made the difference, then? How can I work out for 3-4 hours a week and be in better shape than when I worked out more than double that time weekly when I was half the age I am now?

Well, nutrition, which I write about here frequently, is the critical foundation. But I also keep a better balance between work and rest, decreasing work time as I've increased intensity. How much have I increased intensity? More than double, easily. So how does an old coot like me get away with stepping up the intensity so much without getting injured? Easy. When I execute, I apply the discipline of a Tibetan monk. I move the weight with absolute fluidity. Not slow and controlled like most exercise books tell you to lift. I move like I'm ice skating blindfolded, while balancing two lit torches my open palms.

You have to use less weight, of course, initially, but your strength gains are more rapid, and most importantly, you stop hurting yourself!

My transitions (point at which you change direction) are smooth as silk. I tell my clients to move through their transitions like they're lifting a feather off a sleeping baby's forehead.

Sound excessive? Try it. You'll find you'll be able to take your muscles (provided you are using proper posture and bio-mechanics) to ABSOLUTE failure. It's not comfortable (strength straining is not meant to be) but by taking out any trace of abrupt, jerky movements, you move the load directly from the joints and connective tissue to an even distribution across the intended muscle. You'll feel it the moment you do it. And that allows you to get a much bigger bang for buck and save yourself needless multiple sets.

Once you've felt the difference - both during the workout and week over week as your strength and coordination both improve at unprecedented rates - you'll never go back.

Flat Belly Recipe: Veggie Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 package spinach, sun dried tomato or other flavored tortilla
• 2 tablespoons Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil hummus
• Fresh spinach leaves (stemmed)
• ¾ cup filling of choice (tuna with lemon juice and balsamic vinaigrette, marinated tofu, lunch meat)
• 1/4 cup peeled, shredded carrots (or 1/2 large carrot)

Dress tortillas with a thin layer of hummus and cover completely with a layer of stemmed spinach. Cover 2/3 of the open wraps with filling of choice and then grate carrot over the open wrap. Roll up and secure with toothpicks to cut into three equal portions.

Makes a great appetizer, snack or even a light dinner!

Healthy Habit #4: Pilates

Did your Grandpa look like this at 82?

Joseph Pilates was an amazing guy. He used his life experiences, first as a chronically sick kid, then later as a diver, wrestler, boxer, and gymnast to teach himself about the dynamics of the human body. He was largely self-taught, which inspires me, as it should inspire you. That means with enough drive, motivation, focused attention, discipline and commitment, we can all become master students of our own unique bodies.

One reason Pilates has grown so much in popularity in recent years is that it is extremely versatile. I teach mat Pilates classes and I can't tell you how well it has supplemented the other modes of exercise I teach. Mat Pilates:

1. Strengthens core muscles that support all movement and protect the back
2. Enhances dynamic flexibility (muscle/tendon elasticity and range of motion)
3. Improves posture, coordination and spatial awareness
4. Can be performed almost anywhere with just a mat and a small space

Here are two Pilates exercises I like that work different muscles in a balanced way.



This one is called "Bird-Dog". Starting on your hands and knees, hands below your shoulders and knees below your waist, slowly and with fluidity, extend your left arm and right leg so that they are both on the same plane as your spine. Return gracefully (as gracefully as possible!) to your starting position and switch sides. Try to hold the reach for a full second. Do 6 - 15 repetitions but stop if you feel a strain on your back.

Another one I often include in most classes is "Criss Cross".


The idea is to gently support the neck with your fingertips (don't pull it forward hard in your laced hands) stabilize the torso and turn the shoulders smoothly back and forth as you bring your opposite knee toward your elbow (no fast, bouncy, jerky pumping of your legs back and forth.) This one can be tough for folks new to core work so you can make it easier by kicking out the extended leg higher (rather than closer to the floor) or keep the knees bent. If that version is still too tough or hard on the back, keep your feet on the floor and just keep the upper body movement going.

Always be sure you have cleared any challenging physical activity with your physician and stop if there is any joint pain or sharp, localized muscle pain.

The best way to learn Pilates is to attend a class at a local gym or get a private session or two. It's now the cool-down activity for all my clients, and, in my opinion, a perfect compliment to the more aggressive modes of training like cardio and strength work.

My Favorite Protein Sources

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there's nutrition theory (what most people have some idea about but don't necessarily practice) and then there's the practical solution (measures you'll actually take that will provide the nutrition you need.) One of the tricky areas for some people is how to get enough protein.

There's a range that's recommended by various authoritative sources but I'm going to save you the trouble and tell you that as long as you include lean protein source as a significant percentage of each meal (and at least one snack if you have two or more a day), you should be in good shape.

Some foods are more concentrated and lean sources of protein so one portion can get you nearly halfway (or more) toward your daily requirement. I'm about 5'9", 153 pounds and 10% body fat, and I strength train twice weekly. I shoot for 80 - 100 grams of protein daily and don't usually go too far over that. Rarely do I get less than about 60g.

Here are my favorite sources, starting with the most lean and protein-rich:

Source..............Approx Pro g/ cup or fist sized-serving

Fish........................................... 50+
Lean beef or buffalo burgers (Trader Joe's).....50+
Boneless, skinless chicken breast...............40+
Low fat cottage cheese..........................28
2% fat Greek yogurt.............................16
Eggs (3 whites-to-1 yolk).......................14
Non fat milk....................................10

There are lots of others, of course, but these are the fixtures on my shopping list because of convenience and taste preferences. Plus, most of these foods are pretty versatile as well. When I go out, I try to get stir fries, salads with meat, chicken soup or chili. Sushi is another frequent choice when I eat out.

If you build your food plan around first veggies (last week I talked about the merits of frozen veggies but I also eat fresh, which I'll cover in more detail in a future post), and then lean protein, more than half your intake should be covered.

Watch the blog and I'll give you ideas for choosing the best ways to get your whole grains and fruit as well.