fitness goals – Health by Brenda

Overweight and Undernourished

Better health comes from the inside.

I read today that the National Institutes of Health spend $800 million a year trying to find the cause of obesity. Really? Isn’t this fairly obvious?

Actually, it’s not. Because most people today are struggling with eating more than they want but still being hungry. There are two reasons for this.

The most common cause of overeating is refined food. Pasta, bread, potatoes, white rice, and breakfast cereals are staples in the standard American diet, but give very little nourishment. The body requires carbohydrates, but most of the carbs we eat today are stripped of their fiber and nutrients, leaving only empty calories. They end up just acting like sugar and making us feel good without any real benefit to the body. If you stop eating them, though, the energy quickly depletes and you get the well known sugar crash of children after a birthday party. It’s a little more subtle in an adult. It looks more like a 3 o’clock slump. Grabbing a soda gets us through the afternoon, and a mixed drink after work keeps us comfortable until dinner. If you can’t go more than 2 hours without some sort of snack, you may be dealing with this.

The long term results of this type of eating are not good. Simple carbohydrates (including alcohol) require insulin to process into energy or storage for later use. The pancreas regulates the amount of sugars circulating in the blood, releasing hormones to either shunt them off into storage in fat cells, or bring some of those storage sugars back into the system. With constant demand, the pancreas tires and begins ignoring sugar more and more. Other organs strain to hold equilibrium, which eventually leads to heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The second issue is related. A diet of mostly simple carbohydrates and processed food is lacking in most nutrients. So while we’re eating more than ever, our bodies are actually malnourished. Fortified breads and cereals are composed of stripped grains and synthetic vitamins which are more shelf stable. They lack the complexity and balance of whole foods. Even after eating an entire meal, the nutrients our body needs for fuel (or to process what we just ate) aren’t there, so we begin scavenging quickly after leaving the table. The average American eats far more calories than necessary and yet reaps very little real nutrition. Without substance in our food, the body can only compensate so much before it runs out of raw materials for energy.

Calorie restricting diets, then, become laughable because willpower cannot stop the body’s need for nourishment. More exercise will only increase the demand for food. The body resorts to its bi-hourly “fix”.

The solution to the obesity epidemic is not another alternative to the bacon double cheeseburger or more flavors of rice cakes. The only solution is for each individual, that’s you and me, to shift to whole foods. Choose rich, colorful salads with diverse raw and steamed veggies, fruits, whole grains, and a variety of different meats. Mix up what you eat during the week, so that no night looks exactly like the others. Try new things at the supermarket, and only shop the outside edges: produce, meats, dairy.

The picture that motivated me: “Which one’s the cow?”

The biggest problem here is not that we don’t know this, but that implementation is hard. On cold days, I don’t want a salad. When I’m busy, I don’t have time for a lovely sit-down meal – I’m just happy I could grab a slice of pizza on my way to the next appointment. And to be honest, it’s more expensive to get a real meal than to just grab donuts and coffee on the way.

We must keep the payoff in mind. The food budget may go up a bit, but the medical expenses will go down as health improves and doctor visits become shorter and further apart. Change requires intentionality and effort. No pill will cure obesity. If you catch yourself still browsing the kitchen after you’ve eaten a meal, recognize it! Recognition is the first step toward better habits. Try to ride it out or choose a protein snack. I find a cheese stick or celery stalk is more gratifying than I’d expect and gets me through those moments. At the next meal, choose more complex foods that will nourish your body and hold you longer. I’ve recently added an extra vegetable at dinner – my plate is more interesting, there’s more to eat, and I’m feeling better for it!

Celebrate little strides toward health with something not related to food. It may take longer to see results than you’d like, but hang in there. Better health comes from the inside, and will eventually find its way to the surface. You will see that healthy glow again!!

Connecting the Dots to Health

The cycle of chronic illness can be broken. The integrity of the body is the key. If the spiral can go down, it can also go up. We can use the connectedness of the body to reverse chronic problems and launch a cascade of health.

Doctors have taught us to look at each specific symptom separately, going to an optometrist for eye troubles, the psychiatrist for mental breakdown, and the gastroenterologist for stomach ulcers. If the problem is an injury, that is a very appropriate approach. But most troubles today are chronic and not so specialized. The question needs to be: What is the cause of my symptom? This question is key to achieving health.

Remember in high school, when we were taught that the brain sends a message for the hand to move and the hand moves? But the body is a lot more complex than this. In a burn situation, the hand can retract independently, even before the brain knows of a problem. Nerves in the hand then sound the alarm, and appropriate rehabilitation processes begin right in the immediate area as well as in the brain, where larger scale measures are engaged.

And then the stomach may get upset. Ever think about why that happens? It has nothing to do with the injury. Yet it’s part of the nerve response, the switching from normal to emergency procedures. All digestion shuts down for more important issues. No one piece works alone, but in concert with all others to accomplish the body’s purposes.

If the emergency lasts too long, such as if you are traveling and can’t address the burn properly, an ulcer may appear. Or migraine headaches. The ulcer or headache is not the problem; it’s a reflection of an inability of the system to rebalance.

Our bodies are integral. Once we truly grasp that everything is related, health can be effectively addressed. It seems so elementary, yet so profound. The true solution to your ulcer is not another swig of Mylanta; it’s to overcome the obstacle which has kept you in emergency mode. The inability to relax will keep your stomach overly acidic and underactive. In time, the burn will heal, but the stomach, once a complication, is now its own issue, causing new consequences.

The body is composed of entire systems of nerves and chemical reactions that send messages and receive feedback, act independently, respond to commands, and transmit status reports to maintain balance in the organism. The same network that causes proper response in an emergency will make problems when the situation turns chronic.

But the cycle of chronic illness can be broken. The integrity of the body is the key. If the spiral can go down, it can also go up. We can use the connectedness of the body to reverse chronic problems and launch a cascade of health:

Most important is a good night’s sleep. Cleaning and maintenance happens during sleep, especially in the pre-midnight hours, to clean out cell debris and restore readiness for a new day’s work. Cleanliness starts at the deepest levels.
Eat whole foods the way they grew. Life starts at the ground level. Minimal processing means the energy of the food can be transferred to your cells effectively. Dead or synthetic foods are no way to live.
Pure, filtered water and plenty of it washes the body clean, lubricates moving parts and maintains proper temperature. Hydration also keeps the skin wrinkle free and younger looking.
Exercise daily. Whether walking or high intensity interval training, strong muscles prevent injuries and movement promotes detoxification. Fitness is good medicine.
Collect like-minded people on your path. Together, you can develop a culture of healthy practices, encourage accountability and celebrate success. The difference friends make to your brain health is significant.

Even if you can only do one of these points, it will make a positive difference. That investment will compound when combined with other steps you can add. Just like a savings account, a little bit added regularly turns into a big deposit in your future. Even if you’re inconsistent, as more pieces are added, you’ll begin to see benefits. Consistency will get easier. And the sooner you start and the more diverse your efforts, the more secure your health will be.

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Exercise for Total Health

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It’s cold outside, and exercising is no fun when it’s cold. I gave up swimming last year for walking, for precisely this reason. But I haven’t kept up my walking schedule through January any better than the swimming routine.

It’s fine, though, because we’ll all just get back on the bandwagon once it’s warmer, right? This is a slippery slope. Pretty soon, it’ll be too hot to exercise. Any excuse will work. Once the routine slips, it’s much harder to restart it. There needs to be a plan for every day, regardless of the weather or other obstacles. Some sort of movement needs to happen.

Exercise is important to keep the body not just looking good, but functioning properly. Most people think of heart health when they consider the benefits of exercise, which is primary. Without strength in the pump of life, all else fails. The brain, eyes and toes all rely on the cardiovascular system for sustenance. Thirty minutes of walking, every day, improves endurance for daily activities and dramatically lowers your risks for heart attack, stroke and other debilities.

There’s so much more that goes on during exercise, though. Many organs don’t have muscular structures like the heart, so they rely on the massaging action of the muscles around them to fully work. The lymph system looks similar to the veins of the cardiovascular system, and is the primary route for waste products to be carried out of the body. Unlike blood vessels, there is no musculature or pump, and it is completely dependent on the motion of muscles and joints to push lymphatic fluid out. The sweat of exercise is actually a lot of trash moved to the curb.

Breathing, too, is part of this cleansing process. During strenuous exercise, your body increases the amount of air moving in and out, which clears excess carbon dioxide out of the lungs. With the increased volume of the lungs, fluids in the body’s tissues are pushed toward the collector vessels of the lymphatic system. Waste products in those fluids are then filtered out with the movement of the lungs, heart, and skeletal muscles.

Fresh air flooding into the body improves mood and brain function, which last long after the activity stops. In children, regular exercise increases academic performance; in older adults, it maintains and enhances brain function. Advanced age does not have to equate to decline if regular aerobic exercise is part of your lifestyle.

“All parts of the body, if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed and age slowly; but if they are unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly”

– Hippocrates

Achieving Your Fitness Goals

The most important goal is the one that makes a difference at the end of the year.

A new year is here: it’s time to renew the quest for a better self. Whether you start the year with a detox program or a new diet or exercise routine, the trick is to get past February to accomplishing lasting change. So it must be a goal that’s challenging yet still achievable. It must make a difference at the end of the year.

What, honestly, is really important? Define your terms – what would make you healthier?

A popular option is detoxification. Basically, it means cleaning out any poisons or accumulated junk that are overwhelming our normal filtration systems. It usually means some sort of fasting. The Master Cleanse, also known as the Lemonade Diet, features lemon juice, maple syrup, salt water and cayenne for 10 days. Many supplement companies offer packages of nutrients, fiber, and colon cleansers to be taken along with a limited list of other foods for 21 – 30 days, thereby bypassing the starvation factor. Since motivation is high at the beginning of the year, many people like to start strong with a detox so that the larger goal of eating clean is easier as life crowds back in. It’s not a long-term diet, but a yearly cleanse to release old junk and jumpstart a new, healthier lifestyle. It’s just very difficult to get through the first few days: the body hits panic buttons when the usual crutches of caffeine or sugar don’t arrive on cue.

Dieting, as a longer term strategy, has unlimited options. When choosing what’s right, it’s important to know what the real problem is. Is overindulgence the issue, or is there a food sensitivity that’s causing inflammation? Or is the body depleted of a particular nutrient that’s driving overeating? It’s easy to see this in teenagers, who eat almost embarrassingly at a party and yet still continue browsing the snack table because their bodies need something that hot dogs, chips and soda aren’t providing. Limiting amounts of food isn’t the right solution. I’ll go into different types of diets in future posts, but for now, if this is where you’re heading, choose what seems right and achievable.

Be aware, too, that an overarching change in diet, while it may be a good idea, can be pretty formidable. The body doesn’t respond well to edicts, and a sudden overhaul with no comfort foods and no end in sight is not a recommended path to lasting change. Better to start with smaller changes and more gradually adapt to mostly whole foods. Leave the complete vegetarian or ketogenic status for later, when your body is closer and can make a step to that level.

Exercise is always a good idea, as long as it’s approached realistically. Beware of the “couch to tri-athlete in 5 weeks” plans. Start with a shorter-term exercise routine and take it up a notch as you progress. Darebee.com has a ton of free exercise programs, challenges and fitness information at all fitness levels to get you started and keep you going. No gym required!

Whatever the goal, put it on the planner or set an alarm, and don’t rely on good intentions to get it done. The routines and muscle memory aren’t in place yet. Habits are ruts that we fall into that make moving through the day easy. They should help us by doing tedious work while we plot bigger things. So the hardest part of achieving a resolution is getting out of the bad habit rut. In order to change the tracks, we have to fall off the edges back into the bad rut many times before the new, good track is formed. Making it permanent comes with learning how to overcome failure and strengthening muscles to hold the intended course. Once a good rut is formed, the routine takes over and there is no discussion about whether you will stay on the diet or do the exercises today. Healthy habits have become part of the routine.

Treat yourself like you’d like to be treated. Don’t lay down the law for your body and expect it to obey. Set real-life objectives that allow for interruptions and don’t require around-the-clock toilet access. Some great plans that allow for actual life are:

– Study or exercise plans that take weekends off, allowing for catch-up if you’ve missed or taking a break if you haven’t

– Six day diets that are fairly strict but then the seventh is a free day to eat whatever you like

– Exercise programs that mix things up daily to maintain interest

– Intermittent or partial fasting: either not eating for a period of time each day, or excluding a particular food. Both can be a great way to take control of health.

The takeaway is not to expect perfection. You are regrooving a rut – the aim is progress in the proper direction. If you take a break on the wrong day, it’s no big deal. Just keep going as though you kept to the plan. It’s more important to finish strong than make every step perfect. Look for improvement and celebrate it. It may not be what you shot for, but it’s a step in the right direction. Positive motion – or lack of negative motion – is more certain than unsustainable perfection. I went 12 weeks once on a diet and exercise program before the scale let go of that number. Frustration was mine, but I wouldn’t let it be the last word. I put a picture of myself with a cow on the fridge and vowed to be able to discern the two when summer came. By the end of the year, I’d dropped 30 lbs. Celebrate the score days and don’t sweat the dropped ones. Each day is new; just start back over on the plan.

You’ll get there. Hopefully I can give you some useful information that will help move your health in the right direction this year. What would help you the most? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll put it on the list of topics!

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