Fiber

I received this question, thought it would be good for many.

I’ve been told by my doctor to incorporate more fiber into my diet. Is there any harm in taking fiber supplements in addition to eating fruits and vegetables?

Here’s the harm: Taking fiber supplements doesn't fix the fact that your diet is apparently unbalanced in some way. And, while fiber pills, powders, drinks and other products can be helpful, they should be reserved for those who are either unable (dietary intolerance, allergy, medical condition) or unwilling (picky eater, inconvenient) to include dietary sources of fiber into their daily eating selections.
Fiber is a type of complex carbohydrate that comes from the edible portions of plants, including fruits, bran and vegetables. There are two types of fiber: soluble (dissolves in water, may help to lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels, and includes sources such as oats, psyllium and apples), and insoluble (increases stool bulk and decreases bouts of constipation, found in food sources such a nuts, vegetables, wheat bran). Both forms are needed to round out a healthy diet. Daily adult fiber recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine are 38 grams for men and 30 grams for women age 50 and below. For those aged 50 and above, aim for 30 grams for men and 21 grams for women. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines, and need to be personalized according to your current state of health as well as total daily caloric requirements.
Keep in mind that when it comes to dietary fiber, slow and steady is the way to go. If you add too much too soon, bloating and abdominal cramping, as well as an unpleasant amount of intestinal gas, may occur. That’s why it’s often best to gradually increase fiber intake over a period of several weeks. Additionally, adequate amounts of water are needed (especially if supplements are added) to move the fiber through your system and improve bowel function. That said, most people are able to tolerate and enjoy fiber-rich foods as part of a well balanced diet.
The bottom line is that Mother Nature’s grocery store is the best source of fiber. That’s because fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, peas and beans are packed with a well-rounded supply of nutrients that supercharge your body with healthy benefits. In fact, starting your day with a breakfast cereal containing at least 5 grams of fiber, along with some fruit and low fat milk, will give your body a great jump start for revving up its metabolic rate for the rest of the morning. Other potential healthy benefits of fiber include but are not limited to the following:
May lower total and LDL cholesterol levels
Weight control. Yes, it’s true. Fiber has the added benefit of filling you up (especially when eating water-dense foods such as apples, plums, others) while revving down those hunger pains. That feeling of fullness tends to last longer compared to eating calorie-dense or other highly processed foods.
Helps to control blood sugar levels and may reduce the risk for developing type 2 diabetes
Decreases the risk for constipation by enhancing the size, softness and bulk of the stool, making it easier for the bowels to move it along in preparation for elimination
Lowers the risk for hemorrhoids (less straining to move the bowels) and diverticular disease (pockets in the walls of the colon)
For further information on how to safely add fiber to your healthy eating plan (including reading and understanding nutritional labels), please speak with a registered dietitian. Additionally, check out the American Dietetic Association (http://www.eatright.org/) and the American Heart Association (http://www.americanheart.org/) as well as the American College of Gastroenterology (http://www.gi.org/).

Training

You are off too a good start. If you missed Tuesday due to the weather be there tonight. Maybe we can workout a make up day & if you did not miss then it will be a bonus round. Focus on your food. There are several of you who have not written your diarys for me too look over. If you want to take a few pounds off, remember, that is another area where I can help.
See you at workouts
Shelley

Classes are SET!

Boot Camp, Kick Boxing, Strength training etc...

Stillwater Community Center
Starts Feb 2
MW at 9:30 am
T TH at 5:30 pm

More info let me know

2009 is here

Have you thought about those "famous" resolutions we hope to accomplish this time around? Are you making your list & checking it twice? If not, then it is time to evaluate your outlook on this New Year. What do you "really" want to achieve? What happened to the valuable time you lost last year? How are you going to prioritize time & efforts in 2009?

Personal Training

2009 is almost here. Start thinking about the resolutions you actually "want" to achieve this year. And let's make it happen.

New Years Coming...

Have a great Christmas. Happy New Year!
Look for new posts in January.

10 Mind Games To Help You Stay Fit

Now you're exercising again, and it feels great. Of course, it felt great last year, too, when you went to the gym every morning for almost the entire winter! If it feels so great, why do you keep quitting? You may be able to make your physical activity more consistent by using some of these tricks.

1. Exercise beyond the gym. All movement is exercise. People need to give themselves more options. Take the dog for a walk, bike to the store, take five-minute stretch breaks. If you don't count something as exercise unless it happens in the gym, you're missing some of your best opportunities to stay active.

2. Creativity matters. This advice can be hardest for people who expect the most from themselves. Why bother walking around the block when you should be running your usual four miles? Because when you don't have time to do all four miles, a brisk hike can keep you from feeling that you've failed.

3.Set an agenda. Set a goal, such as increasing the speed, frequency or duration of your activity. Maybe it's time to train for a marathon--or take a walk up the hill in the backyard without getting winded. A personal trainer can help you determine appropriate goals.

4. Try something different. Have you ever tried snowboarding? Bowling? Swing dancing? Body surfing? Chi kung? How about reversing your power walk route? Exercising at a different time of day? Physical activity isn't boring, but how you participate in it can be.

5. Fool the brain. If you're new to exercise, diversionary tactics, such as listening to music, watching TV or playing computer games may help you stick with it--but stay aware of sensations that could signal injury or overdoing it. As you become more experienced, associative strategies, such as focusing on your breath or concentrating on the movement of your body, can help you enjoy exercise more.

6. Find a mentor. Locate a friend, workout buddy, mentor or coach to keep you honest. You can either exercise with your buddy, or simply check in with him or her to report your progress.

7. Use work as workout challenge. Plan to park farther from the office and put your walking shoes in the car the night before. Plan to take that new yoga class next week, and call the babysitter now.

8. Face your challenges. Does vacation throw your exercising schedule out of whack? Do projects at work overtake your activity time? Do injuries sideline you? Boredom? Fear of success? Fitness foes can be beaten once they've been identified. You can change your vacation style, set work limits, get guidance for injury-free activity, find new challenges, or face your fears with counseling and support.

9.Be sociable. Choose places and times to exercise where there will be other people who are actively involved in exercise.

10. Follow a script. Use images of past successful experiences to remind yourself of how good exercise makes you feel. Or repeat a simple phrase to yourself, such as, "Every little bit makes a big difference" or "Inch by inch, anything's a cinch." If you use planning, flexibility and imagination, you won't ever need to feel like a dropout again.

Stop Eating Your Anger

I read the following article. Eating for some emotional reason has long been a topic amongst my friends & clients. Give the following a little thought.

By Sally Shannon
Woman's Day, a publication of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Four years ago, Barbara Konwinski of Wyoming, Michigan, weighed 268 pounds. "I was so angry — just angry at my life in general," the 54-year-old teacher, mother and wife recalls. "I felt I had no control over anything."
Although she's normally cheerful and outgoing, a series of events that would challenge anyone — her husband's job loss when his company relocated, a house fire and a serious accident involving her oldest son — brought Barbara to an emotional low. And her weight to an all-time high. "Only food would appease me," she recalls. "So I would grab a cookie, eat it and then feel worse, because in addition to being angry and frustrated with my family's circumstances, I'd be angry with myself for eating. Then I would turn around and eat two more cookies."
Barbara was literally stuffing her anger, something many women who struggle with their weight do, experts say. This is how it works: You have a run-in at the office, you open your mail to find a monster bill or your teenager rolls her eyes at you and stomps away. Your next stop is the kitchen or perhaps the staff lounge, where somebody brought in a cake. Never mind that you have been making a conscious effort to eat less. Down goes the cake, the leftover pizza or whatever else is around.
"We've learned from thousands of patients that women often internalize their anger," says Gerard J. Musante, Ph.D., director of Structure House, a residential weight-loss center in Durham, North Carolina. "They use food to deal with the depression, emotional hurts and reduced self-esteem that follows."
"People who swallow their anger feel, for whatever reason, that they can't express it, so they resort to food," says Thomas Wadden, M.D., director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school.
"The irony is, nobody enjoys eating when they're stuffing hostile feelings," Dr. Wadden adds. "Even if it's delicious, you may not notice the taste or how much you've eaten."
Eating out of anger or frustration often sparks binges, which can really pile on the pounds, says Howard Rankin, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Inspired to Lose. Rather than eating just one or two cookies, you eat the whole bag, only to then move on to other food items. Keeping anger under wraps also is draining, because it uses a lot of energy, says Dr. Rankin. "The angry person may feel very empty and very hungry, with a desperate need to eat."