Newsletter 1 – September 20, 2017

What does overfat mean? How can we tell if we are overfat?

Changes in lifestyle have led to 70 to 90% of us having too much fat, we are "overfat".  This means that even if we may have a normal body mass index, or our hip to waist ratio is within "normal limits" or the scale tells us we are at our high school weight, we may still be overfat. The journal article available at the link below discusses a large segment of the developed world:

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00190/full#h7

So, what happens if we are overfat?

Essentially this condition sets us up for increased risk of a whole host of problems as shown below by this diagram from the article.

How can we tell if we are overfat?

If 2 times your waist measurement is greater than your height, you are overfat.

 Wow! Here he goes again!  It just seems impossible to lose weight and now he is telling us almost all of us need to do something.

Citation for both diagrams: Front. Public Health, 24 July 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00190

That's right, it's an ongoing maintenance project for all us. It never stops. Being healthy is all about moderation and lifestyle, and focusing on The Big Four.  

 The Big Four, listed below, strengthen your immune system. And if your immune system is healthy, you are tipping the scale, so to speak, towards aging gracefully rather than decaying as you age.  You will be more resistant to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory illness.

• Nutrition

• Exercise

• Healthy sleep

• Controlling emotional stress

Getting healthy is more than 80% about what you eat.  The core therapy for cholesterol management and for many other issues such as blood sugar, blood pressure, gout, sleep apnea and pain associated with osteoarthritis, is attaining a weight that is healthy for you.  Often, a small reduction in weight (just 10-15 pounds) will translate into a remarkable improvement in health.  A reduction in weight of just one-pound unloads 4 pounds/square inch on your weight-bearing joints, including the lower back.

Attaining and maintaining a healthy weight is a constant process of making adjustments.  It is a challenging process. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is that your brain's pleasure center is constantly demanding you to seek and eat calorie-dense foods. This mechanism evolved for prehistoric humans in order to avoid famine.  Today, food is abundant and food technology has created unhealthy but alluring foods full of white flour, sugar, salt and bad fat - everything the pleasure center craves. And the more we eat these easily stored dense caloric foods, the more we strengthen the pleasure center's hold on us. However, we can reset the pleasure center. It takes hard work and discipline but in days to weeks, we can tame the beast. Lifestyle changes can modify the neurological networks and inhibit our cravings for unhealthy foods.  

Here are a few tips to healthy eating:

• Eat in a low glycemic fashion, keeping daily carbohydrate intake to less than 50-60 grams/day.  This can be liberalized once the craving center of the brain calms down.

• Minimize gluten-based white flour foods such as pasta, cereal and bread as well as other complex starches such as rice, and corn- and potato-based foods.

• Eat a predominately plant-based diet.  Try to get 5 servings of vegetables and appropriate serving sizes of fruit.  

• Avoid excessive amounts dried fruit (although nutritious, we tend to eat more than we should). A small box of raisins is the equivalent of a whole bunch of grapes! I could eat 4 prunes, but I would never have 4 plums.

• Avoid concentrated carbohydrates such as candy, cookies, cake, pudding, ice cream, juices, etc.  

• Avoid soda which is basically liquid candy.

• Eat good fat; it is filling and will not elevate your insulin levels.  Examples of good fats include avocados, nuts, nut butter, olives, and healthy oils such as olive and coconut.

• Ingest the correct amount of protein for your ideal body lean weight -- 0.5 grams of protein per pound per day of your ideal body lean weight.

• Keep a food diary, or use a cell phone app such as "Lose It! - Calorie Counter " or "Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal" to track your daily intake.  We all eat more than we think.

• Exercise and restorative sleep also help to maintain and restore your immune system and control stress.  During the day, try to minimize your sitting. Get up every hour and walk around, or do some stretching, lunges or squats.  Work standing up if you can. Try to walk 10,000 steps every day.  In addition to cardiovascular exercise 2-3 times per week, consider adding stretching and weight training 2 times per week.

Want to learn more?  Want to do something about being overfat, or if you're not overfat, just want to get yourself in better shape? 

Consider joining BOOM -- which stands for Boost Our Own Metabolism -- a program that I developed, and for 3 years running, teaches key nutritional points and provides tips for improving sleep and stress levels.  The next session of BOOM begins on Wednesday, October 4 and runs through December 20, from 7:15 - 8:00 am in the cycling studio at the Columbia Athletic Club. We spin on the studio bikes to music using a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) format.  My assistant, Stacey, will once again be leading the spin portion and this is preceded by my brief talk on the topic of the week. If you're unsure whether or not you are healthy enough to participate, please send me an email and I can let you know if BOOM is right for you.

Here is a video about BOOM https://youtu.be/kbnhzxjN3YE if you have any questions (please note that the details regarding days and dates in the video do not pertain to this upcoming session).  

Here are registration instructions:

Columbia Association members: there is no charge.  Sign up online through the CA website or app beginning at 2:00 pm on Mondays or call the Athletic Club beginning 2:00 pm on Tuesdays.

 Non-members: Sessions are purchased by the month as follows:

·      October - 4 classes/$40 total

·      November - 5 classes/$50 total

·      December - 3 classes/$30 total

Registration and payment can be made in person at the front desk of the Athletic Club or by calling there (410-730-6744).  Please note that payment must be made for an entire month, there is no pro-rating or partial refunds.

Stay tuned for my next Newsletter update in a few weeks, and I will give you more sound advice on vitamins and supplements.

Remember: put your health first!

Wishing you good health,

HAO