Fit Fact: People who keep food diaries lose twice as much weight
Friday January 16, 2009
Telling my clients to keep a food diary causes some of the most vicious glares I've ever gotten as a trainer - right behind the looks I get for making them do pushups, lunges and burpees. I realize it's a pain to read labels, measure food, look up calories and try to figure out what and how much you're eating, but the upside is that you think twice about the mindless eating you may do when you're tired, depressed or bored.
If you want to lose weight but avoid keeping a food journal, you may be more motivated when you hear about a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study involved more than 1700 participants, all of whom were following an exercise program and a healthy diet. Some participants kept a food diary and some didn't. After 6 months, most participants lost an average of 9 lbs, but those who kept a food diary dropped up to 20 lbs, more than twice as much as the non-writer-downers.
That's a pretty major difference and proof that a food diary can help you:
- See where extra calories are coming from
- Pinpoint when you're eating because your bored or stressed
- Make you think more about your choices
- Learn more about the foods you eat on a regular basis and whether they're really healthy
I'd love to hear about your experiences. Do you keep a food diary? If so, how long have you kept it and what do you keep track of? Leave a comment and tell us what you think about keeping a food diary.
More About How to Keep a Food Diary
Source:
Hollis, Jack F., et al. Weight Loss During the Intensive Intervention Phase of the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial. Am J of Prev Med. Vol 35 (2), August 2008.
Wednesday January 14, 2009
I was talking to one of my clients recently and he said, "You know, there's a guy at the gym who has the most amazing abs...I think it might be a 24-pack. I hate him, of course, but can you give me some exercises so I have abs like that?" He was disappointed when I told him that ab exercises, while important for a strong core, are probably the least effective exercises you can do to get a six pack. He was even more disappointed when I went through some of the
best ways to reduce belly fat, mostly because they all involve hard work. "So all these pushups, squats and lunges you make me do will help me get flatter abs?" He asked. I said, "Only if you stop drinking all that beer every night." He blinked. "Then what will I live for?"
Indeed.
Reducing belly fat isn't just important for how you look, it's also important for your health. People with more visceral fat (fat that surrounds the organs) have an increased risk for metabolic problems, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, so reducing it even a little can help your body stay healthy. You can get a few ideas for how to do that in my latest article about reducing belly fat. If you have any tips, leave a comment and tell us about your abdominal experiences.
More About Your Abs
Tuesday January 13, 2009
I'm not a big fan of working muscles in isolation, especially small muscles like those of the inner and outer thighs. I probably did a zillion leg lifts back in the day hoping, like a lot of people, to get rid of that jiggly fat around the thighs. It never worked. When I became a trainer, I saw the benefit of working those muscles in conjunction with the rest of the lower body muscles, since that's how they operate in real life. It was also a relief to stop spending time lying on the floor and flapping my legs up and down.
This inner thigh exercise is a perfect example of a way to work the thighs while involving more muscle groups. What makes this exercise tough is balancing on one leg while lifting the other across the body. I also added a side squat with the standing leg so that everything is working. One issue you may have with this move is finding a way to secure your band. I looped one handle under a very heavy coffee table but, if you don't have that option you can use an ankle weight or use a cable machine at the gym.
The key to this move is to focus on the side squat first, sitting back into the heel, and then taking your time to get your balance as you lift the other leg in front of you. The weight should remain in the standing leg throughout the exercise.
Do it right: Secure one end of a band to a sturdy object near the floor and loop the other end around the right foot. Step far enough away that there's light tension on the band. Step out with the left leg into a side squat. Keeping the weight in the left leg, stand up and bring the right foot in from of the body, leg turned out, focusing on the inner thigh. Continue with the squat and leg lift for 10-16 reps before switching sides.
Vote in This Week's Poll: Who or what influences you about exercise and fitness?
Monday January 12, 2009
When I was in college, my sister came to visit and persuaded me to go running with her. She easily ran more than an hour a day at the time and, because she looked fabulous and I thought she hung the moon, I agreed. I did my best to pretend my lungs weren't on fire and that shards of glass weren't being driven into my shins and that I couldn't go much faster than a glacier. I think she figured it out when I collapsed after barely a mile.
That first run was a disaster but, years later, I'm still running which tells me my sister's influence ended up being a positive thing (unlike the time she told me to drink only grapefruit juice to lose weight. Um, not such a good idea).
We're all influenced by people in our lives and by all the information floating around, pushing and pulling us in different directions. If a friend raves about a new diet or a co-worker talks about how he lost 20 pounds with a new exercise program, you may think, "Hm, maybe I should try that."
I'm curious about who or what influences you when it comes to health and fitness. Your friends and family? What you read on the Internet or in magazines? The latest new diet or trend? Vote in this week's poll and leave a comment about your experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly.
