Carbo loading – who needs it, and how to do it

Have you heard of carbo loading?  It’s a potential energy booster for endurance athletes – but for everyday exercisers it could lead to weight gain.  Here’s the lowdown on carbo loading.  

If you were to sit down for dinner with a bunch of runners the night before a marathon, chances are good they’d be chowing down on carbs – lots of them.  You’d be surrounded by people eating heaping piles of spaghetti, rice, potatoes and bread – all in an attempt to top off their fuel tanks before the race.  Most endurance athletes know that it takes a lot of carbs to keep their engines running – so there’s always a big push to pack in as much as they can the night before an event.  But many endurance exercisers that I talk to don’t think about what they’re eating for the last few days before a race – which is too bad, because it could make a big difference in how well they perform.

The idea of carbohydrate loading – or what’s technically known as “muscle glycogen supercompensation” – is fairly simple.  During endurance events, working muscles rely on heavily on carbohydrate for fuel.  Much of that carbohydrate comes from storage sites in the muscles, where it’s stored in the form of glycogen.  When glycogen stores run low, it’s not uncommon for athletes to ‘bonk’ or ‘hit the wall’ as they start to run on fumes.  Carbohydrate loading is designed to ‘overload’ the muscles with glycogen, allowing athletes to maintain their pace and exercise longer.

In order to maximize glycogen storage, it takes more than one carb-heavy meal the night before a race – ideally, you’ll start planning about six days ahead of time.  The standard procedure calls for a gradual tapering of the amount of time spent exercising each day (usually with a rest day the day before) and then a big bump up incarbohydrate intake during the final three days – at this point, carbs should make up 75% or more of total calories.  So meals will feature abundant amounts of pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, tortillas, bagels, pancakes, fruits and fruit juices.

With proper carbo loading, the amount of glycogen packed into muscle can increase as much as three-fold.  And, the better trained the athlete, the better the benefit.  Endurance training conditions the body to put more glycogen into storage, and to do it more quickly, too.

Note, though, that I have been using the term endurance athletes.  Carbo loading is only helpful for those who are regularly engaged in intense, continuous exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes.  If your workouts are generally shorter than that, carbo loading won’t help you.  The value of carbohydrate loading is in its ability to keep you going longer – it doesn’t allow you to workout any harder.  And, if you use your daily stroll around the park as an excuse to pile on the pasta, you could end up just piling on extra pounds, instead.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Bedtime eating, is a late-night snack ever okay?

Eating before bed isn’t always a no-no.  There are times when a nighttime snack makes sense.

Let’s say you’re my client.  It’s the first time we meet, and we’re talking about your eating habits.  As you’re telling me what you usually eat and when, you mention that there’s something you do that you probably shouldn’t… you always eat a snack right before you go to bed.  You expect me to tell you that it’s a habit you should break, but before I weigh in on the subject, I’ll want to know more.  What do you eat? How much?  Are you eating because you’re hungry? Or is it just a habit? And, if you don’t eat before you go to sleep, what happens?  Once I’ve got a better picture of your nighttime noshing, I’m in a better position to say if it’s right or wrong.

That said, I do – in general – discourage people from eating right before bed. For one thing, if your bedtime snacking is routinely taking you over your daily calorie budget, it’s a habit worth kicking.  And, unless your snack is really small, light and easy to digest, lying down soon after you eat a sizeable snack is a recipe for heartburn – and possibly a disrupted night’s sleep.

But, while it is a habit that I tend to discourage, especially in my overweight patients, bedtime snacking isn’t always “bad” – and might even do you some good.

Bedtime eating is okay if… you’re trying to gain weight

Many people who are trying to gain weight struggle with a less-than-voracious appetite – and may not feel hungry often enough to boost their calorie intake through multiple meals. But most find that with a long enough stretch between dinner and bedtime, they actually look forward to a small bedtime snack.

Bedtime eating is okay if… you’ve saved some of your calories for something small and light

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again.  Foods aren’t any more fattening when they’re eaten at 9pm than they are if they’re eaten at 9am. So, eating right before you go to bed isn’t a problem as long as it doesn’t cause you to exceed your calorie limit for the day.  Some people do this because their habit is to eat a small dinner early in the evening, and then stay up pretty late – so they do get a bit hungry before bed.

Bedtime eating is okay if…  you sleep better when you have a snack

Maybe you find that you don’t sleep well unless you eat “a little something” before you hit the sack.  It could be.  A small snack at bedtime may help to rebalance your hunger hormones.  Normally, your body’s production of ghrelin (a hormone that increases hunger) is suppressed when you eat, coupled with an increase in the production of leptin – a hormone that tells your body you’re satisfied.  If the balance of the two is off, a light snack might put you back on course.

Bedtime eating is okay if… you’ve got an athletic event in the morning

If you’re an endurance athlete, and you’ve got a big event the next day, a high carbohydrate snack before bed is easy to digest, and can help you to top off fuel tank for your morning activity.

Bedtime eating is okay if… you’re trying to gain muscle

Strength training builds muscle, of course.  But you can’t adequately bulk up unless your body has enough protein to work with – which is why most weightlifters know to take in some protein after a bout of pumping iron.  The building blocks of protein – amino acids – are what your body uses to build up muscle tissue, and your body depends on having plenty of amino acids available.  It stands to reason, then, that once your dinner has been digested and absorbed, the amino acid levels in your bloodstream will likely decline during night – which could slow down the muscle building process.  But a recent study¹ showed that having a high protein drink before bed can increase circulating levels of amino acids, which boosted the rate of muscle protein synthesis during the night.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Middle age spread is real but it’s not inevitable if you act now

Middle age spread is real. Adults gain an average of about a pound a year as they age.  But there are changes that can be made along the way to help stop this ‘creeping obesity’. 

If you were to ask a group of 40-somethings if they have more trouble managing their weight now than they did when they were in their 20s, you’d likely hear a chorus of ‘yeses’ in response.  They know all too well the meaning of “middle age spread” (which always sounds to me like margarine that’s been in the refrigerator too long) –  the slow, steady march towards a thicker waistline that seems to go hand-in-hand with getting older.  Many of my middle-aged patients consider this ‘creeping obesity’ to be inevitable – something that just  “happens to everybody” and is therefore completely out of their control.  But is it?

Why it’s harder to manage weight as you get older

There’s no question that weight management becomes a bit more of a struggle as we get older, and there are several factors that come into play.  For one thing, activity levels change.  People tend to exercise a bit less – and a bit less vigorously – as they age, so their calorie burn drops and the middle age spread begins.  Both men and women experience hormonal shifts that can affect how much muscle mass they carry, which can also throw their calorie burn into a minor tailspin.  Lifestyles change, too.  When kids grow up and go off on their own, empty nesters may cook fewer well-balanced meals since ‘it’s just the two of us’, or eat more meals out – both of which can lead to extra calories. 

What’s the average amount of weight that middle age adults gain every year?

In a study published last year¹, nutrition and public health experts from Harvard University analyzed adult weight gain in nearly 121,000 men and women whose eating habits and body weight had been tracked every four years for 20 years.  The subjects in the study gained an average of almost 3 1/2 pounds every four years – and just under 17 pounds over the 20 year period.

How is middle age spread linked to diet?

In addition to tracking total weight gain, the Harvard researchers were also able to connect increased consumption of certain foods with a certain amount weight gain.  The list of foods isn’t that surprising, but the amount of weight they contributed is a bit of an eye-opener.  Regular consumption of French fries – just this one food – was linked to a weight gain of nearly of 3 1/2 pounds over four years.  Regular potato chip eaters could count on that habit alone to pile on another 1.7 pounds, and soda drinkers gained an extra pound over four years.  Not surprisingly, those who ate more fruits, vegetables and whole grains had the least amount of weight gain over 20 years, as did those who exercised regularly, had good sleep habits, and curbed their time in front of the television.

So, how can you keep from gaining weight steadily in my middle years?

Simple.  If you’re not exercising regularly, start now.  Cardio is great for your health, but you need to do strength training, too.  Unless you challenge your muscles, you stand to lose about five pounds of muscle mass per decade as you age – and that’s calorie-burning tissue you can’t afford to lose.  Exercise will also keep your stress level in check, and will help you sleep better – both of which can help with weight control. As far as your diet is concerned, your calorie burn in middle age isn’t quite what it once was, so work on controlling portions and packing as much nutrition into those calories as you can – in the form of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and moderate amounts of whole grains.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Identify & use your exercise personality

I want to help you be the best that you can be, so this New Year let’s make way for fitness by pinpointing your exercise personality. 

Can you believe it’s almost the New Year? Every December, I find myself commenting on how time seems to be moving too fast, especially as I look at my children who are growing taller and more independent each day. When you’re busy and active, I find that days and months start to blend together, and then all of a sudden you realize – ‘wow, it’s the holidays already!’ Before you know it, the year is almost finished.

The holiday season is often a time for reflection, looking at what has happened during the year, being thankful for the goals you have achieved or assessing how you can improve.  January 1st can bring a sense of a new start, a clean slate, a chance to make a promise to drop bad habits and begin a new journey toward improvement. This week, I’m sharing my theories on how you can make your New Year’s resolution last more than a week.

Traditionally, the focus of the New Year is on improved health through better nutrition and weight loss goals. I think this is for two main reasons:

·      Unless you have the willpower of a saint, it’s likely the holiday season will give you the gift of a few extra pounds from overeating

·      Or, you may have struggled to control your weight and energy levels throughout the year

As fitness expert, January can be the most exciting month but it is also a bittersweet month because so often people’s good intentions only last for a few weeks.  This worries me because yoyo dieting and on-again-off-again exercise habits can play havoc with your long-term nutrition and fitness plans.

I want to stop the cycle right now, so I’ve identified three exercise personalities.  Take a look and decide which personality group you fall into – or maybe you’re a combination of all three?  Be honest with yourself, but this is just for fun and I hope that the names will make you smile!

Find your exercise personality

Martini Exerciser

Are you excited and enthusiastic about starting a new routine?  Do you work so hard on the first day and the second day, that by day three you can barely move?  By the end of the week, are you hobbling because you go at everything full throttle?

I love the positivity of the Martini Exerciser personality – you’re so positive it’s refreshing.  But if you’re using ice to soothe your joints instead of clinking in your glass then you may be approaching exercise with a little too much enthusiasm.

If you’re a Martini Exerciser, you tend to jump in with both feet but soon drop out because either you don’t have the staying power or you continue at a break-neck pace until injury or common sense finally makes you quit.  But I know you’ll be full of energy and ready to go again soon.

Fashion exerciser

Do you make sure you have the right equipment for every activity?  Do you make sure you have a cute outfit for every activity too?

As a Fashion Exerciser you’re always armed with the latest gadgets and equipment.  Proudly showing off your pristine new gym membership, you feel great swiping your card and sauntering into the gym.

You get into a rhythm and you’re looking forward to revealing a more toned, more energetic you, but life takes over and your visits become less frequent or non-existent. This cycle is one that may repeat throughout the year, especially as the season’s change. Unfortunately buying more new gym gear as an incentive to go remains only a short-term fix.

Caterpillar exerciser

Are you desperate to change but worried you won’t manage it?  Do you always have a reason why now isn’t the right time to make a start?

A Caterpillar Exerciser is desperate to change but is afraid of failure. You’ll sit and plan but won’t actually jump out of your comfort cocoon. Every Monday you claim that this is the week you’ll finally start, but by mid-afternoon you have an excuse and you’ve decided next week would be a much better time to start exercising.

Your excuses range from the weather, to family commitments or just feeling too tired. If you’re a Caterpillar Exerciser then I bet you dream of being a butterfly but previous failures have left you uncomfortable to even start.

***

Did you find an exercise personality that fits your approach to fitness?  Did something in there make you think – ‘yep, I do a little bit of that?’  Many people are a combination of all three exercise personalities at different points in their lives. But now that you’ve decided on your exercise personality, you can make a plan toward being successful. The tips are pretty simple, almost obvious in fact, but sometimes it’s the simple approach that works best.

Match your exercise routine to your personality

Martini Exerciser

You need to pace yourself.  Try to train smart, not hard and make a plan to work out for only two days a week and progress from there. During your first month, train at about an intensity level of about five or six out of ten and then increase your intensity in small steps.  This will keep you motivated and help you to stay on track. Your excitement and enthusiasm is a gift that can lead to incredible success, if you set a clear goal and a plan that builds up as you gain strength, stamina and energy.

Fashion Exerciser

Your personality generally needs to be kept accountable.  By enlisting a friend to meet you or by signing up for a specific six week set of classes you will get past the first few weeks  - the time most people find it easiest to quit or flutter to a different regime style. Only use your fashion addiction to reward yourself for actually following through because getting a new top or the latest gadget should be a reward and not a bribe!

Caterpillar exerciser

With your exercise personality, you’ll achieve the best results by joining a group – find a walking group, a weight-loss group or ask a friend to be your success buddy. If you ask a co-worker who loves being active to help you take the first step, then the next steps will come naturally. I promise that the first step is always the hardest but within no time the feeling that comes with achievement will have you finding your butterfly wings.

 ***

I am here to help you achieve your goals, make you smile and keep you on the right track to become the best you can possibly be!  Leave me a comment and tell me which exercise personality you relate to most.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

A new study sheds light on the four best ways to win at losing weight.

There’s a lot of noise about how to lose weight: Your friends say do this or try that.  The magazine your reading suggests the latest celebrity detox diet is the way to reach your goal. But the science says that just a few small tweaks to your diet and lifestyle can add up to big results.

Losing weight is not simple but it’s also not that  complicated. You don’t need to do make sweeping changes to your diet and lifestyle to lose weight. Generally, small changes to your daily habits are best to help you win at losing.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota examined the diet and activity behaviors of more than 400 adults who had lost at least 10% of their body weight in the year prior to the start of the study.

The subjects were asked questions such as, how many times during the past week they 1) ate breakfast, 2) ate lunch, 3) ate dinner, 4) ate after 7 p.m., 5) ate a snack while watching TV, 6) ate a meal while watching TV, 7) ate food at work 8) ate at a fast food or sit-down restaurant, 9) bought food from a gas station or C-store.

In addition, subjects reported how often they weigh themselves. They also reported how often they 1) write down the calorie content of the foods they eat, 2) write down the amount and type of exercise they do, 3) use meal-replacement products to manage weight, 4) plan their meals to manage their weight, and 5) plan their exercise to manage their weight using the response options: never, rarely, sometimes, often, and very often.

The results found four habits were most predictive of weight loss and maintenance success. The four habits included: 

Eat Three Squares Every Day

Eating a breakfast, lunch and dinner daily is considered a “normalized” eating pattern and is preferred to keep your energy levels and hunger hormones stable.  If you skip meals, you’ll only eat more later in the day and going for more than 3-4 hours without eating will make you crave high-calorie, high-fat foods that are low in nutrition (aka: junk food).

Limit TV Watching & Screen Time

Those who limit hours in front of the tube have leaner physiques. Those who watched the most TV also had higher fat and sugar intake in their diet. Not only is TV full of food advertising that makes us want to eat, people often get into the bad habit of eating treats and unhealthy snack foods while watching their favorite programs.  Also, the more time you spend watching TV means the less free time you have to be active.

Make Your Meals

Subjects in the study that ate out most frequently were also the most likely to be overweight. It doesn’t matter if it’s a fast food joint or a 4-star establishment, when we eat out, we eat more calories.  More eating away from home was related to greater fat and sugar intake, lower fruit and vegetable intake, and less physical activity.

See some of our healthy recipes for inspiration.  They’re quick and simple so anyone can make them.

Keep Tabs on Your Weight and Have Strategies at the Ready

Subjects who reported that they weighed themselves regularly and kept tabs on what and how they were eating and their exercise habits were most likely to win at losing.  And in these cases, no special products, diet plans or programs were needed.  You have everything you need to help yourself

Greater use of weight control strategies was most consistently related to better weight, diet, and physical activity outcomes.

Bottom line?

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Middle age spread is real but it’s not inevitable if you act now

Middle age spread is real. Adults gain an average of about a pound a year as they age.  But there are changes that can be made along the way to help stop this ‘creeping obesity’. 

If you were to ask a group of 40-somethings if they have more trouble managing their weight now than they did when they were in their 20s, you’d likely hear a chorus of ‘yeses’ in response.  They know all too well the meaning of “middle age spread” (which always sounds to me like margarine that’s been in the refrigerator too long) –  the slow, steady march towards a thicker waistline that seems to go hand-in-hand with getting older.  Many of my middle-aged patients consider this ‘creeping obesity’ to be inevitable – something that just  “happens to everybody” and is therefore completely out of their control.  But is it?

Why it’s harder to manage weight as you get older

There’s no question that weight management becomes a bit more of a struggle as we get older, and there are several factors that come into play.  For one thing, activity levels change.  People tend to exercise a bit less – and a bit less vigorously – as they age, so their calorie burn drops and the middle age spread begins.  Both men and women experience hormonal shifts that can affect how much muscle mass they carry, which can also throw their calorie burn into a minor tailspin.  Lifestyles change, too.  When kids grow up and go off on their own, empty nesters may cook fewer well-balanced meals since ‘it’s just the two of us’, or eat more meals out – both of which can lead to extra calories. 

What’s the average amount of weight that middle age adults gain every year?

In a study published last year¹, nutrition and public health experts from Harvard University analyzed adult weight gain in nearly 121,000 men and women whose eating habits and body weight had been tracked every four years for 20 years.  The subjects in the study gained an average of almost 3 1/2 pounds every four years – and just under 17 pounds over the 20 year period.

How is middle age spread linked to diet?

In addition to tracking total weight gain, the Harvard researchers were also able to connect increased consumption of certain foods with a certain amount weight gain.  The list of foods isn’t that surprising, but the amount of weight they contributed is a bit of an eye-opener.  Regular consumption of French fries – just this one food – was linked to a weight gain of nearly of 3 1/2 pounds over four years.  Regular potato chip eaters could count on that habit alone to pile on another 1.7 pounds, and soda drinkers gained an extra pound over four years.  Not surprisingly, those who ate more fruits, vegetables and whole grains had the least amount of weight gain over 20 years, as did those who exercised regularly, had good sleep habits, and curbed their time in front of the television.

So, how can you keep from gaining weight steadily in my middle years?

Simple.  If you’re not exercising regularly, start now.  Cardio is great for your health, but you need to do strength training, too.  Unless you challenge your muscles, you stand to lose about five pounds of muscle mass per decade as you age – and that’s calorie-burning tissue you can’t afford to lose.  Exercise will also keep your stress level in check, and will help you sleep better – both of which can help with weight control. As far as your diet is concerned, your calorie burn in middle age isn’t quite what it once was, so work on controlling portions and packing as much nutrition into those calories as you can – in the form of lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and moderate amounts of whole grains.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Carbo loading – who needs it, and how to do it

Have you heard of carbo loading?  It’s a potential energy booster for endurance athletes – but for everyday exercisers it could lead to weight gain.  Here’s the lowdown on carbo loading.  

If you were to sit down for dinner with a bunch of runners the night before a marathon, chances are good they’d be chowing down on carbs – lots of them.  You’d be surrounded by people eating heaping piles of spaghetti, rice, potatoes and bread – all in an attempt to top off their fuel tanks before the race.  Most endurance athletes know that it takes a lot of carbs to keep their engines running – so there’s always a big push to pack in as much as they can the night before an event.  But many endurance exercisers that I talk to don’t think about what they’re eating for the last few days before a race – which is too bad, because it could make a big difference in how well they perform.

The idea of carbohydrate loading – or what’s technically known as “muscle glycogen supercompensation” – is fairly simple.  During endurance events, working muscles rely on heavily on carbohydrate for fuel.  Much of that carbohydrate comes from storage sites in the muscles, where it’s stored in the form of glycogen.  When glycogen stores run low, it’s not uncommon for athletes to ‘bonk’ or ‘hit the wall’ as they start to run on fumes.  Carbohydrate loading is designed to ‘overload’ the muscles with glycogen, allowing athletes to maintain their pace and exercise longer.

In order to maximize glycogen storage, it takes more than one carb-heavy meal the night before a race – ideally, you’ll start planning about six days ahead of time.  The standard procedure calls for a gradual tapering of the amount of time spent exercising each day (usually with a rest day the day before) and then a big bump up incarbohydrate intake during the final three days – at this point, carbs should make up 75% or more of total calories.  So meals will feature abundant amounts of pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, tortillas, bagels, pancakes, fruits and fruit juices.

With proper carbo loading, the amount of glycogen packed into muscle can increase as much as three-fold.  And, the better trained the athlete, the better the benefit.  Endurance training conditions the body to put more glycogen into storage, and to do it more quickly, too.

Note, though, that I have been using the term endurance athletes.  Carbo loading is only helpful for those who are regularly engaged in intense, continuous exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes.  If your workouts are generally shorter than that, carbo loading won’t help you.  The value of carbohydrate loading is in its ability to keep you going longer – it doesn’t allow you to workout any harder.  And, if you use your daily stroll around the park as an excuse to pile on the pasta, you could end up just piling on extra pounds, instead.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Meal Deals -­ when more isn’t necessarily better

A “meal deal” is no bargain if you’re just buying extra fat, sugar and calories.

There’s an old joke that goes something like this:  two women are having lunch in a restaurant they haven’t been to before.  As they’re finishing up their meal, one says to the other, “You know, the food here is really terrible!” To which her companion snaps back, “I’ll say!  And such small portions, too!”  It’s so true, isn’t it?  No matter what we’re buying, we’re always looking for a good value – even if it’s food that isn’t very good…or very good foryou.

Getting more for your money is generally a good thing, and we’ve been conditioned to look for the best value in everything we buy – from laptops to laundry soap.  But if getting more for your money means getting more fat, more sugar and more calories, that can spell trouble for your waistline.

How often have you felt prodded to overeat – swayed by sales pitches that encourage you to buy more and consume more – and, by implication, “save” more?  Order the bigger burger, and there’s a good chance you’ll be offered a meal deal for a discount on your soda and fries, too (after all, you’ll need more liquid to wash it all down).  Order a large pizza, and you also get a sack of free breadsticks delivered to your door (just what you need for dinner… bread, with a side of bread).

Too bad the same doesn’t seem to hold true for healthy food.  Most of the time, when you buy fresh fruits and vegetables, you buy them by the pound – it doesn’t get any cheaper the more you buy.   I’ve been to movie theaters where I’ve been charged for a cup of water (just the cup, mind you – I had to fill it myself with water from the water fountain).  That’s because the cup probably costs the theater a lot more than the soda does – they could practically give it away if they didn’t have to pay for those darn cups.

How can you keep yourself from giving in when you’re feeling outside pressure to overeat?

Focus on getting nutritional value, not just a huge amount of food

Is your goal really to buy “more food for less money”? What you should be thinking about is how to buy the most nutrition you can with your money.  Spend $3 on a fast food meal and you’ll get about 40 grams of fat and a quarter-cup of sugar.  For the same three bucks, you could buy a carrot (all your vitamin A for the day) an orange (all your vitamin C for the day) a banana (a hefty dose of potassium), a bunch of broccoli (nearly all your folic acid for the day) and a can of black beans (22 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber).

Practice saying “no, thanks”

A few weeks ago, my local supermarket was giving away a one-liter bottle of soda with every purchase of $25 or more.  The checker just couldn’t believe that I didn’t want it – “but it’s free!”

So practice saying “no”…“no thanks”… “thanks, but no thanks”…”I’m good”…

You’re the one who determines how much you should be eating

Remember who’s in charge.  Just because a restaurant is willing to throw in an extra helping of food and call it “dinner”, doesn’t mean it’s an appropriate amount of food for you.  You know what how much you should be eating.  Keep a mental image of your portion sizes, and do your best to stick to them. 

Don’t buy it if you don’t want it

Sure, it sounds like a deal if you “buy one and get one free”.  And, if you’re good at taking home the extra for another meal, this might work.  But if you don’t want it – and you know you’ll be tempted to eat it – don’t buy it.  A “good deal” isn’t so good if you’re getting something you really don’t want.

https://www.goherbalife.com/stephenharris/

Watch what you eat: does TV make you fat?

A recent article in the LA Times carried a headline that said, in effect, that watching television makes you gain weight.

No news there – after all, unless you’re doing sprints across the living room while watching your favorite show, you’re not burning calories.

But it isn’t television itself that’s the problem (although we often add insult to injury by snacking while we watch – more on that later). Simply sitting for long periods – whether it’s in front of the big screen or the little one – leads to biochemical changes in the way the body stores fat and sugar that negatively impact health.

We humans were designed to have an active lifestyle. We share our genetics with our ancient hunter-gatherer ancestors who spent many hours a day searching for food. We’re meant to be active all day long, and our biology is adapted to a high level of physical activity. So when our behavior (sitting all day) goes counter to the way we were designed (engaging in lots of physical activity), our biology works against us.

If you’re watching the big screen, don’t couple the (in)activity with snacks. If you can, set up your tv at home so you can stretch, walk on the treadmill or lift weights while you watch. If you spend the day in front of the computer, deliver messages to nearby colleagues in person rather than by phone or e-mail. You can also try sitting on a stability ball or walking on a treadmill at a slow pace while you work.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Dive in & get rid of back fat with swimming

If you have ever seen a swimmer’s body then I’m sure you will recall the image of a perfectly v-shaped and sculpted back with no sign of back fat or bra bulge in sight.  Swimming is great for your back muscles so today I’m going to share my top four tips to help you maximize your pool time.

First, let’s think about all the marvelous health benefits associated with regular swimming. I must admit that a sculpted and toned back is one of the best advantages in my mind but all these other swimming benefits certainly sweeten the deal:

• Improved overall fitness level
• Superior muscle tone
• Reduced stress
• General fat reduction for a leaner, more toned you

You don’t have to be an aspiring pro swimmer or triathlete to benefit from training in the water, the low impact nature of swimming makes it a great choice for everyone especially severely deconditioned individuals, people with joint problems and the overweight population.

When I was pregnant with my triplets, swimming was the only form of exercise I was allowed to do. I loved being in the pool, moving my body freely and feeling a few pounds lighter and, as an athlete, it was something I felt I had to do at least once a week. Swimming and aqua jogging is a staple part of many pro athletes training regimens. Basketball players, baseball players, track and field athletes, and even golfers appreciate the benefits of aqua based training.

Swimming is a low impact / high result exercise

I am not surprised that swimming is so popular in the athletic world because the benefits of low impact exercise and the natural resistance provided by water, combined with the ability to keep your workouts high in intensity allows athletes to stay in great shape without creating excess stress on their joints.

Learn how to master swimming

Taking swimming lessons is the greatest gift I have given to myself as an adult.  I’ve been able to swim since age six and I would have always described myself as an adequate swimmer.  I wasn’t graceful but I stayed afloat and that is all swimming is, right?  It turns out that I had a long way to go.  Now that I understand simple swimming technique, I realize that before my adult lessons I wasn’t actually swimming at all – it was more like drowning prevention!

Safety should always be a priority around water, so if you are not a competent swimmer or if you are not comfortable in the water, it’s best to get at least basic lessons in order to build your confidence and stay safe. Training in the water is also an activity that I advise people to do in a supervised environment or with a friend.

About that swimmer’s back…

If you want to work on getting back muscles that look fabulous in a dress or lats that resemble the batman body suit, you’re in luck because I’ve had fun researching the swimming program at my local university, taking swimming lessons at my local high school pool and chatting with avid swimmers so that I can provide you with four top tips on how to get maximum benefits from your pool time.

I have explained in previous posts that there is no such phenomenon as targeted fat reduction – working your back muscles alone will not rid you of fat in just that area of your body.  The good news is that swimming is a full body cardiovascular exercise that is known for being a great slow fat burner. Doing drills that specifically target your back muscles will build and tone your muscles.

1.    Time in the pool

Swimming is not something you should rush. That’s not to say you can’t swim fast, I mean that regular, decent-length sessions will deliver the best return. In order to burn fat and tone up you will need to dedicate yourself to swimming – 45-60 minutes of continuous laps keeping your heart rate at a steady working pace will give you the best results.

2.    Vary your strokes

Switching your stokes throughout your swim will ensure that you are working all of your back muscles and not just favoring your most comfortable stroke.

-  Backstroke is started with the latissimus-dorsi muscles in your back (these are your batman wings) the chest and arm muscles join in as the stroke continues.

-  Breaststroke is started primarily by the chest muscles and the back muscles assist.

A varied stroke workout keeps your swim session interesting and ensures that all of your muscles are working hard. Try doing two laps of each stroke and keep alternating for the entire duration of your swim.

3.    Don’t kick

Abandoning your kick altogether may alter your upper-body form and not fully engage your back muscles, so start out simply by using a float in between your ankles or kicking every other stroke. Taking your legs out of the equation will make your upper body work twice as hard.

4.    Water weights (advanced swimmers only)

To increase resistance in the water, using floats or weights can speed up your muscle building results. Or try wearing webbed swimming gloves as the added resistance will make more work for your upper body and back, and this will make your workout more intense.

A high intensity muscular workout will tone and build muscles faster than normal swimming alone. The added bonus of using gloves is that, as you become efficient using them, you will swim more laps in less time.

***

Swimming is a great for getting in shape and losing weight.  As you lose fat your swimming sessions may seem to be more intense and that’s because fat helps your body float! So, as you reduce fat and build muscle, your body will have to work harder to keep you afloat.

The benefits associated with swimming far outweigh any negatives:

·      Yes, the pool may feel cold but you burn extra calories as your body works to stay warm.

·      Yes, chemicals may play havoc with your hair.  I know all about this one and now I just wear a classic swim cap every time.

·      Yes, you do have to wear a swimsuit but it doesn’t have to be revealing and no one is really checking out any wobbly bits. And you’ll be becoming more toned during every session.

My point is that you should make NO excuses.  Just jump in and get fit.  Regular swimming will help you say goodbye to back fat and hello to super toned dress-worthy or batman-esque back muscles.

http://goherbalife.com/stephenharris

Healthy Eating: Getting Started

Who said healthy eating needs to be boring? Our focus at Herbalife is eating delicious, fresh, whole foods to achieve your ideal weight.




Who said healthy eating needs to be boring? Our focus at Health is eating delicious, fresh, whole foods to achieve your ideal weight. We also strive to bring you the best, most reliable and up to date information on new changes and studies in nutrition and health. Eating healthy is an important component to living a long and healthy life. But what we want you to understand is that any healthy diet also allows for some indulgence. Although changing your lifestyle can be challenging, we are here as your personal resource, only a click away from great answers about nutrition and cooking. 

When you’re considering changing your eating habits there are a few things you should work to incorporate into your diet. First, whole fruits and vegetables are an important part of any healthy lifestyle. They are packed with vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients that help you lose weight, help slow aging and will give you lots of energy. Plus, there is a ton of variety. Start out slow with some fruits and veggies that you know and love, but gradually work to incorporate new ones. It will keep you from getting bored and will help you get different vitamins and nutrients. Next work on substituting fatty protein sources with lean meat, fish or beans. Protein is key because it keeps you full and satiated and can be a great way to get zinc and omega-3s in your diet. Avoiding overly processed foods will also help you shed pounds. White sugar and white flour have no nutritional value so working to limit their place in your diet will be an easy way to slash your overall calorie count. 

One of the most important things to remember is portion control. No matter how healthy you eat, if you are eating too much you will have a hard time maintaining a healthy weight. The good news is that there is no need to go crazy measuring and obsessing about everything that goes from your plate to your mouth. Take a look at your dinner plate. First make sure that it is in fact a plate and not a platter, the size of dinner plates have increased making controlling your portions more difficult. You want half of your plate filled with veggies, a quarter filled with protein and a quarter with carbohydrates (we heart whole grains).

Don’t be nervous about what to make with all of these new ingredients. We’ve got that covered too. We have thousands of recipes that will make sure you are eating delicious meals, salads, sandwiches, soups and even desserts. Each of our recipes are easy to follow and get good food on the table fast. For example, our salad of the month always offers a new spin on the old staple. These recipes will up your confidence in the kitchen and will hopefully inspire you to make them your own. 

No worries about eating out though. Going out to dinner or lunch shouldn’t be stressful or cause you to gain weight. By incorporating some of our healthy tips and by eating the correct size portion of your meal (hello leftovers) you can eat out whenever you have to without worry.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Fast eater? 5 tips to help you slow down

Eating more slowly and mindfully can help you control how much you eat. Here are my favorite five tips for fast eaters to help you slow down and regain control.

A friend and I were swapping stories about last week’s Thanksgiving feast, and she mentioned to me that her uncle was the fastest eater she’d ever seen. When she was a little girl, she used to think her uncle was a magician – it seemed to her as if one minute he had food on his plate, and the next minute… zap!… his food had simply vanished.  One Thanksgiving, her aunt set a mirror infront of his dinner plate, thinking that he might just slow down if he watched himself shoveling it in.  Instead, he simply sat down – and complimented his wife on the creative table decor.

Eating quickly isn’t just a ‘table manners’ issue.  When you eat too fast, you don’t give your brain a chance to let you know when to stop, so it’s easier to overeat.  Fast eaters may not chew their food thoroughly – and they swallow a lot of air while they’re gulping it down – so it’s no wonder that speed eating can lead to indigestion.

Some recommended techniques to help you slow down seem downright silly – one old diet book I have on my shelf says that you should get really, really up close and personal with your food before you swallow it, suggesting that you “bring the slice of steak up to your nose, but don’t eat it just yet.  Instead, inhale deeply, taking in its aroma.  Now bring it to your lips but don’t nibble it just yet, just take a lick…”  Well, you get the idea.   I can’t imagine anyone taking this technique seriously….not to mention that it’s probably best practiced alone, in the privacy of one’s own home.

I don’t know anyone who benefited from eating in front of a mirror, either, nor do I know anyone who has – in their quest to slow themselves down – managed to sustain the habit of eating with children’s utensils or counting how many times they chew each bite.  But that’s not to say that “once a speed eater, always a speed eater”.  There are some practical things you can do to slow down your eating and rid yourself of that fast eater habit – without embarrassing yourself.

Eat in courses

Instead of serving all your food at one time, try eating in courses. Start your meal with a salad or a light soup first, or you might just try having your vegetables first.  When you start with the lowest calorie food, you’ll start to fill up on  fewer calories.

Set the mood

Soft lighting and slow music can help to slow the pace of your eating. The only downside is that you might linger at the table longer – so keep serving dishes off the table so you’re not tempted to ‘have just another bite’.

Eat foods at the proper temperature

We’ve all had those times when we’re so eager to eat, we zap some leftovers in the microwave until they’re just warm enough to be appealing – but not so hot that they can’t be eaten quickly.  On the other hand, when foods are piping hot (or – when it’s appropriate – nice and cold), you eat them more slowly.  It’ll take you longer to sip on any icy-cold protein shake that’s been made with frozen fruit than one that’s simply mixed together in a glass.  And if you have to blow on each spoonful of hot soup, it’ll slow your pace, too.

Don’t load your fork until you’ve swallowed the previous bite.

Next time you’re at the table with a fast eater, take note – at the same time they’re chewing one bite, their fork is usually locked and loaded for the next one.  If this sounds like you, here’s your mantra:  chew, swallow, load fork, repeat.

Take a half-time break.

About halfway through your meal, take a breather.  Sip some water, keep the conversation flowing, but just stop eating for a few minutes.  Then take a hunger reading.  You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you’re comfortable and satisfied – and that you’ve crossed the finish line.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home 

Fitness Tips= Why To Be Active

Regular physical activity has many benefits. It is a potent stress buster, it can help keep weight off and it lowers your risk of developing major chronic diseases. Additional benefits include increased energy, stronger bones and muscles, improved sleep, improved body shape, a boost to mental wellbeing and a change in your outlook on life.

For some quick tips, see below.

1	Renew your commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Think about increasing the types of activities that work for your lifestyle and that can easily be built into your day. Make it a point to read up on fitness news and information, such as this article about exercise. Put your fitness plan into action today!
2	Aerobic exercise is important for the cardiovascular system. It’s defined by repetitive motion such as running, swimming or cycling. It can also tone muscles. Incorporating a little of both aerobic and resistance training is best for your daily routine.
3	Set small, specific goals you can stick to (like losing 5 percent of body weight or exercising three times a week, etc.) Drink green tea (which helps promote weight loss). Snack on fresh fruits and vegetables during your day.
4	Resistance exercise is important for healthy muscles and bones. It also builds strength. It’s defined by activities with short bursts of energy, such as weight lifting, playing sports and even pushing a lawn mower. Ideally, you need both resistance exercise and aerobic exercise to keep your body operating at its peak.
5	Simple ways work for getting fit – you don’t need to join a gym. If you become more active in your everyday life – such as parking your car further and walking more, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or even walking to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing them – you’ll get fit faster.
6	Your metabolism doesn’t slow with age. It’s just that as people get older they do less strength-training and can lose lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism – and the faster you’ll lose weight. Keep your exercise and activity levels up each year, and you’ll simultaneously maintain your muscle tone, keep your metabolism up and maximize healthy weight loss.
7	At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, at least five times each week, will keep you physically active. You can split each half hour into three 10-minute sessions. If 30 minutes are out of reach right now, start with what you can do and gradually build up.
8	Keep hydrated by consuming at least two liters of water each day. It is even more important to drink water before, during and after exercise. Even low-intensity exercise requires you to be well-hydrated.
9	Rest between workouts and allow your body time to recover. STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home