Everyday Fitness

Alright, what I'm about to write is the one thing you must know to lose weight. Promise to keep this guarded with your life... Okay, here it is:

Calories eaten < Calories burned = Weight loss

That's it, that's all there is to it. You need to eat less calories than your body needs in a day, and it will make up the difference by burning fat. I hate seeing so many ads on countless websites claiming you can get ripped in 2 weeks, and all you have to do is pay them $XX.XX for their product to do so. That's actually what inspired the title of this post; sort of a tongue in cheek way to lead into things.

• No magic pill, herb, or formula will do it for you.

You don't even have to exercise to lose weight, but it certainly helps. And why not do so to reap all the additional benefits of working out? Now, down to the heart of the matter. In order to eat less calories than you burn in a day, it helps to have an idea of how much you burn! A useful BMI Calculator site can help you work this out. First of all, find your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) with one of these formulas:

Pounds and Inches
Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight) + (4.7 x height) - (4.7 x age)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight) + (12.7 x height) - (6.8 x age)

Kilos and Centimeters
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight) + (1.8 x height) - (4.7 x age)
Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight) + (5 x height) - (6.8 x age)

Your BMR is how many calories you would burn if you sat completely motionless 24 hours a day. Which realistically, isn't how we live. Even if you watch TV all day you still get up to eat and go to the bathroom! So, you multiply your BMR by a certain factor depending on your level of activity:

1. If you do little or no exercise : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
   
2. If you do light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week : BMR x 1.375
   
3. If you do moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week : BMR x 1.55
   
4. If you do hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week : BMR x 1.725
   
5. If you do very hard exercise/sports or a physical job : BMR x 1.9

Whatever your resulting number is, eating less calories will cause you to lose weight. Eating more calories will cause you to gain weight, if that's your goal. Remember, a pound of body fat is worth 3500 calories. If you can eat 500 calories less than you burn each day, that's 1 pound a week. That's a reasonable and easily reachable goal. Even though quick results would be nice, trying to lose too much too fast can really put a strain on your body and lead to binge eating, ruining all your hard work. Staying realistic will keep you on the right track!

I actually pulled this recipe from one of the ads on my site. I love cooking with Carnation evapourated milk! It's great for replacing cream in savoury sauces or sweet desserts. The calories I'm quoting are using Fat Free evapourated milk and yogurt. Most of the carbs in this dessert come from berries and dairy, which are some of the highest quality carbs out there!

Per Serving:
Calories: 125
Fat: 0.2 g
Carbs: 27 g                                                       
Protein: 6 g     
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 2 hours chilling time
Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg [1 tbsp/15 mL] Powdered unflavoured gelatin
¼ cup [50 mL] Cold water
1½ cups [375 mL] Regular, 2% or Fat Free (Carnation®) Evaporated Milk
¾ cup [175 mL] (Smucker’®) No Sugar Added Apricot Fruit Spread
½ cup [125 mL] Plain yogurt
1 tsp [5 mL] Vanilla

Sauce
2 cups [500 mL] (Europe's Best®) Frozen 4-Field Berry Mix
½ cup [125 mL] (Smucker’s®) No Sugar Added Apricot Fruit Spread
2 tbsp [30 mL] Water

PREPARATION
Combine gelatin and water in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
Place evaporated milk and fruit spread in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in reserved gelatin. Mix until well combined. Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine.

Pour ½ cup (125 mL) mixture into 6 small dessert bowls. Refrigerate until set; about 2-4 hours. To serve, run a knife around the sides and turn upside down onto serving dish.

Sauce:
Place berries, fruit spread and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Refrigerate until cool or ready to serve over panna cotta.

Tips:
• Try using (Smucker’s®) No Sugar Added Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, or Wildberry Fruit Spread or Orange Marmalade for something different.
• For a fun entertaining idea, let the panna cotta mixture set in different shaped glasses or ceramic bowls.

Makes 6 servings.

In this 2006 report, Statistics Canada puts 2/3 of Canadians at overweight or obese. That should sicken you. There's no end to the list of negatives involved in being overweight. Your mood, physical health, appearance, and overall quality of life; not to mention the inevitable burden on society when it comes time to take care of your failing body.

Also, research shows that overweight people are most often viewed as lazy, incompetent, overindulgent, sloppy, slow, and unintelligent. None of these things may be true about an overweight person, but it's how they're most often stereotyped. And that won't help you get ahead in life.

Seriously, two thirds! Since when did abnormal become the new normal? As a society, over eating or poorly taking care of one's self shouldn't be tolerated. Obesity needs to become the new smoking. Like it was put in the movie "Super Size Me" I believe; we might leer at a smoker and say, "what are you doing? Don't you know smoking is bad for you?" The same needs to happen with poor eating, as insensitive as it might seem to some.

I'm no psychology major, but I've heard of research that suggests people are more likely to act a certain way if they risk facing the scorn of their peers, rather than behaving that way for their own good. Sounds like the case to me; overweight people have a hard time kicking the habit for their own sake, and they may not feel pressure to have to. That's because being overweight is tolerated in day to day life, since we're supposed to be accepting of other peoples' appearance. But obesity is more than just appearance. It's killing our species.

Let's get it right Canada

Baking Substitutions:

• 1 Cup whole milk = 1 Cup skim milk
  
• 1 Cup buttermilk = 1 Tbsp lemon juice + 15 Tbsp skim milk
  
• 1 Cup heavy cream = 1 Cup evaporated skim milk, or 1/2 Cup low-fat yogurt + 1/2 Cup low-fat cottage cheese
  
• 1 Cup sour cream = 1 Cup fat-free plain yogurt, or 1 Cup chilled evaporated skim milk whipped with 1 Tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 Cup cream cheese = 4 Tbsp margarine + 1 Cup dry low-fat cottage cheese
  
• 1 Cup butter or oil = 3/4 Cup applesauce, or 1 Cup mashed banana
  
• 1 Egg = 2 Egg whites
  
• 1 Oz Chocolate = 3 Tbsp margarine + 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  

Miscellaneous Tips:

• Use chicken broth to stir-fry instead of oil.
  
• In place of butter, use non-fat cooking spray to brown.
  
• Replace bacon with turkey bacon.
  
• Use extra lean ground beef, or ground turkey.
  
• No sugar added fruit spreads taste more fruity than jam, and are plenty sweet.
  
• Canned fruits should be packed in fruit juice instead of heavy syrup.
  
• Use low calorie or skim versions of dairy products.
  
• Try milk and sweetener instead of cream and sugar in your coffee.
  

A report compiled in 1995 on behalf of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that MSG was safe for most people when eaten at customary levels. However, it also said that, based on anecdotal reports, some people may have an MSG intolerance which causes "MSG symptom complex." A subsequent study found that while large doses of MSG given without food may elicit more symptoms than a placebo in individuals who believe that they react adversely to MSG, the frequency of the responses was low and the responses reported were inconsistent and not reproducible, and were not observed when MSG was given with food. While many people believe that MSG is the cause of these symptoms, a statistical association has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions, even in studies with people who were convinced that they were sensitive to it.

The big "scare" was started by people claiming to be allergic to MSG, and no study could show that was actually the case. Yet the widespread phobia of MSG persisted. This is one of those huge public health misconceptions I absolutely cannot tolerate, and can be down right idiocy in some cases.

What is MSG? Monosodium Glutamate. Sodium is an atom of salt, and glutamate is an amino acid. MSG is quite literally salt and protein. The two parts dissociate when mixed in fluids, meaning if you mix MSG in wet foods or when it hits your tongue, you instantly have two very common components to everyday life: salt and protein. The next time someone tells you MSG is bad for you, tell them to go suck a lemon.

Okay, so this video is a little extreme/harsh. I really just like it for the "can squats cure cancer?" line. The average person doesn't have to be THIS adamant about them, but squats really are the best exercise ever! Everyone (injuries permitting) should add a little squat to their lives.

Okay, maybe not zero carbs; we don't want that. Rather, low carbs are an effective method for losing weight. Atkins has to be the poster child of low carb diets. The idea is this:

Insulin is the hormone that triggers our bodies to store the food we eat as glycogen and fat. Insulin is made in response to elevated blood sugar. Without elevated blood sugar, there is no insulin. Instead, our bodies make the hormone Glucagon. Glucagon triggers our bodies to break down glycogen and fat for energy.

The state where your body relies primarily on fat for energy is termed ketogenic, which you might hear thrown around when people talk about low carb diets. That stems from ketogenesis; a process in your liver that converts fat into ketone bodies; a usable energy source for the brain. Because as it turns out, the brain is the only part of the body that can't burn fat directly. Which I think is a relief, considering your brain is made up of so much fatty tissue. Hate to have my brain eating itself whenever I get hungry.

What don't I like about low carb diets? Now this is all speculation mind you, but they are things I think about:

• For one, ketone bodies can make the blood more acidic if they aren't burned off with excercise.
  
• Some low carb diets advocate eating anything so long as it's low carb; I'd suggest staying away from too many saturated fats, which can be bad for the heart. Instead, I'd get more energy from poly-unsaturated vegetable oils. Poly-unsaturated fats tend to improve the cardiovascular system, lower bad cholesterol (LDL), and raise good cholesterol (HDL).
  
• It's important to take a multivitamin, and eat a few greens each day to ensure you're still getting the vitamins you need.
  
• Cutting carbs doesn't seem like a good thing to do for prolonged periods of time. I tried it, and felt like garbage. I feel like depriving your body of its favored nutrient for more than a month is cruel.
  

Right now, I'm trying something called the anabolic diet. You don't eat carbs during the week while you work out, but then eat carbs on the weekend to replenish your body's glycogen stores. It seems like the best of both worlds to me! If you're interested in slimming down and have the patience to cut carbs for a little while, I definitely recommend checking out the anabolic diet. And if at any time you feel uncomfortable, then stop. Always stay safe above all!

Adapted from an AskMen article, and a few other odd sources:

10. Better sleep
Regular exercise has been shown to improve the quality of sleep.
9. Better aging
Working out maintains skin and muscle tone, flexibility, and aerobic capacity as you get older. Exercise also helps prevent age related conditions like osteoporosis by maintaining bone density.
8. Better health
Working out improves immune function, and stimulates immune cell production or function.
7. Better mind
Exercise does more than just boosting your body. Working out has been shown to increase memory, reaction time, and concentration. Studies show activity stimulates parts of the brain associated with attention and goals.
6. Better confidence
Ask yourself this: do you feel better about yourself after working up a sweat, or melting into the couch eating a bag of Lays. That body and strength you're working towards is definitely a confidence booster.
5. Better stamina
It may seem counter-intuitive, but working out actually gives you more energy. This helps you get through the day and help stave off naps, which can ruin a good night's sleep. If you find you don't have the energy to drag yourself to the gym, do it anyway. In a few weeks getting to the gym won't be a problem with all the added vitality.
4. Better mood
Working out relieves tension, making you feel less jittery and anxious. Endorphins released after exercise improves your mood, and causes a state of relaxation. This can help with motivation, making it even more likely that you'll eat right and make it to the gym next time.
3. Better sex
It's been proven; working out increases the drive and satisfaction of sex. Even a little regular exercise helps increase blood flow, endurance, and hormone levels that contribute to sex.
2. Better body
As if this one isn't obvious enough. On top of the physical looks, people who work out have a lesser chance of suffering from heart disease, strokes, obesity, diabetes, and yes; even cancer.
1. It's fun!
Go for a nature walk, take salsa dancing. Whatever you like doing; do it.

I heard a radio segment the other day on binge eating. It's a demon many people come face to face with while trying to lose weight or eat well. From what I've learned in psychology, I'm going to give my take on why binge eating happens in the first place.

Let's look at a smoker. The smoker knows cigarettes are bad for them, yet the body madly craves them. Your body doesn't listen to reason; it wants what it wants and those desires don't disappear because we know better. The smoker can keep the body's desire for a cigarette in check with willpower, for a time. But the body can be pretty persistent..

Now let's look at a dieter; say cheesecake is their cigarettes. Remember, your body doesn't know logic. If the dieter likes cheesecake, telling their body it can't have cheesecake because they're trying to lose weight is a struggle of will. That desire for cheesecake will always be there, nagging at the dieter and making them all the more likely to breaking a very bad way; a binge. At the point of a binge, the dieter can feel ashamed and defeated, dropping their fitness goals altogether.

The best way for the dieter to avoid binging is easy.. Let them eat cake!

By telling your body it can't have certain things, you build up tension. A tension that will one day become too much to handle, and blow its top. Then you eat half a pecan pie and a bag of muffin mix all to yourself. A better alternative is to find a safe and controlled outlet for those cravings. Ask yourself; are you really never going to eat cookies for the rest of your life? Being reasonable helps maintain a proper diet over a lifetime; not just a few months' fad.

I have to give Weight Watchers credit; they recognize that you should still treat yourself to the foods you love while on a diet. Cake in itself is not terrible; surplus calories over a prolonged period of time is. So the key is simply moderation. Go ahead and eat a cookie. At the end of the week, so long as your calories aren't in excess you're completely fine! Not stressing, not worrying, and not repressing your desires help keep a diet manageable and fun; not a chore on the edge of being broken.