10 Reasons To Exercise...Beyond Weight Loss

Being engaged in physical activity is an important part of your health and longevity. Many of you have family and friends that depend on you! Do not only yourself but them a favor by taking  a little time each day to help improve your risk of disease! Although the list could go on forever, below are 10 reasons to exercise!

1. Increased energy levels
2. Decreased bloop pressure
3. Decreased risk of chronic disease such as diabetes, cancer, and dementia
4. Increased immune function
5. Decreased body fat
6. Develops strong bones
7. Improves sleep
8. Decreases risk of arthritis
9. Reduces anxiety
10. It's FUN!

Here are some exercise ideas to help you get active:

Take a fitness class through your local gym or Parks and Rec Dept

Enjoy the outdoors - walking, hiking, biking

Wii - Just Dance or other active video game

In home fitness DVDs

Walk the mall or other large stores

*** Find a friend or family member to help keep you accountable! Remember consistency is key! 

I cannot stress the importance of living an active lifestyle. Many people are not proactive and just think they will deal with issues as they arise. Exercise and healthful eating are the 2 things that you can do to prevent many chronic diseases. STAND UP for your health and get moving! 

Weekend Challenge- Interval Training

Interval Training

 Here is a weekend fitness challenge for you! It’s very simple and all you need is yourself and a stopwatch/timer. Interval training is very effective, it doesn’t take long, you can choose your own level, and it's fun!  

4 intervals/rounds = 24min

 INTERVALS- Here is an effective format for a total body workout. You can choose the same exercises for each round or mix it up!

• 3min Strength (Pick 2 exercises, alternate 45sec 2x)


•  2min Cardio (Pick 2 exercises, alternate 30sec 2x)


• 1min Abs (Pick 2 exercises, alternate 30sec 1x)

 Choose whatever exercises you like! Here are some of my favorites.

Strength	Cardio	Abs
Squats Squat with knee lift Reverse lunges Walking lunges Pushups Plank Tricep dips of chair/bench Tricep pushups Burpees	Jumping jacks High knees Butt kickers Moguls (ski)- hop side to side or front to back Jump rope Step ups on bench or step Jog in place Punches corner to corner Stairs	Basic crunch Plank Plank with twist- knee to elbow Side plank Bicycle crunches Reverse crunches- feet in air and lift hips ( stamp the ceiling with your feet)

 For more ideas on exercise check out some of these You Tube videos

No Equipment - 30 Min. In Home Power Workout:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSdZFnbjuzU&feature=related

Weightless by Kiya:                                                        http://www.youtube.com/user/kiyaknight?feature=mhum

You in for the challenge? Grab a partner! Be accountable to someone! Just do it one time this weekend and let me know what you think! Leave a comment- what intervals did you choose!!

Heres to you!!! Have a great weekend!

Common Exercise Myths- Get The Facts

Everyone has their own theory about exercise and nutrition. Here are some common myths that have been circulating around. Get the FACTS!

1-     Going to the gym is the best way to stay fit.

• Many people benefit from in home exercise programs or being active in the outdoors. The great thing about exercise if you can do it just about anywhere. Kiya and James with WEightless escape are experts in getting you out of the gym and exploring fitness on a whole new level.

2-     To lose weight all I need is cardio. Weight training will bulk me up.

• Both cardio and weight training are an important part of your weight loss journey. Weight training is very important in maintaining lean muscle mass while lowering your body fat.

3-     If you don’t have at least 30 min to workout it’s not even worth it.

•  Any exercise is better than none. You have to start somewhere, even if that is a 15min walk at lunch time. Break your workout up during the day.

Example:15 min strength and stretch in the am or pm (crunches, pushups, ball squats, lunges, stretches) and 15 min walk/jog at lunch (hit the hills).

4-     Avoid eating after 8pm.

• Often people have already ingested all the calories that they need for the day by this time so intake after 8pm isn’t justified.  Nothing is wrong with eating late if you are using the food to fuel your body.

5-     The more time you spend working out the better results you will get.

• Overtraining will stop muscle growth. Always make sure you give your body adequate rest.

6-     If your parents are overweight most likely you will be too.

• Although genetics do play a part in body composition so does lifestyle. Keep active and pay attention to your daily food intake.  Quality nutrition and exercise are the most important factors in preventing obesity.

7-     Water aerobics is for older adults with injuries.

• People at any age can benefit from water aerobics. Water aerobics proves to be challenging and a great way to improve health and fitness. Even some top Olympic athletes incorporate water exercises to work their muscles a little differently. 

8-     If I do a lot of exercises for that trouble spot it will go away.

• The most effective way to change our bodies is to do a full body workout (cardio, weights, and stretching), along with proper nutrition. Fat will not fall off of our bodies in just one spot no matter how hard we work at it if the other components aren’t in check.

           

OPTIFIT

Many of you probably wonder what I do on a day-to-day basis. Here is an insight into my  work as a dietitian specializing in the field of wt. loss.

Whether a surgical or nonsurgical patient all patients that come into Surgical Bariatrics Northwest with the goal of changing their life are entered into the Optifit program.

What is OPTIFIT? Optifit is a weight management program that is physician-monitored and dietitian-directed, provides behavioral support, and utilizes a professional trainer—all to get you looking and feeling great! We’re here to help get you started on our medically directed, proven effective, non-surgical weight loss program that is designed to elevate your wellness and revitalize your life. Located in Post Falls, Idaho, Optifit offers you the care and support you need to help you achieve your weight loss goals and restore your health.

As the dietitian, I work with patients one on one to access their metabolic function and devise meal plans based on their individual results. Together we look at how their metabolism is working (how many calories they need in a day) and what their body composition is (fat mass vs. fat free mass). The main goal is to lose fat and maintain muscle! This is done with a caloric precise, high protein OPTIFIT meal replacements.



Feel free to join one of our newest patients on her journey.  Losingbigwinningbigger

The Optifit program is fail proof and the big test comes after patients are done with the 12 wk program and are transitioning back to regular eating. With Optifit you will lose weight no matter what, but unless you have changed your mind and engaged in a complete lifestyle change the weight will come back. I work with each individual during the 12 weeks to give them the dietary education and tools that they need to be successful long after the program. Our behavioral groups are a big part of our patients success as well. In these groups individuals are able to identify those behaviors that needs to be changed in order to reach their long term goals.

If you have any questions about what a dietitian does or  about the Optifit program please let me know!

If you are currently on Optifit I would love for you to post your experiences and also maybe some of your favorite ways to spruce up your meal replacements!

Here are a couple tips!

- Add sugar free peppermint or Irish cream to your chocolate shake or hot cocoa drink

- Add fresh basil to your tomato soup

- Blend a Crystal Light packet into your vanilla shake

- Blend your fruit drink with ice (some people like to add diet sprite in it as well)

Losing Weight

Have you ever felt defeated in your weight loss efforts? Many people get so caught up by the scale! Don’t let the scale determine your success! I always tell my patients to not weigh themselves every day. Once a week is plenty to help keep you accountable and on track. Write it down to help track your progress. Treat yourself once you have hit your 5 lb weight loss mark (go to a movie, or the spa) and then keep shedding the pounds!

Here is a checklist of things to focus on daily on your weight loss journey:

• Don’t go longer than 3-4 hours without eating (Start with breakfast, no longer than 1 hour after waking up)


• Have protein at each meal and snack (20-30 grams protein at meal times, 7-10 grams for snacks) Try a protein shake.


• Drink your water (Consume at least 64 oz water - add lemon, lime, or sliced cucumbers to flavor)


• Commit to an exercise program (Exercise most days of the week. Include cardio, weight training, and stretching)


• Stay away from high calorie drinks, condiments, and creamers


• Limit your sweets (Sweets may taste good but they are packed with empty calories. Try popping in a piece of gum or have a sugar-free popsicle to curb your craving)


• JOURNAL. Write down everything that goes into your mouth. A journal is a great accountability partner.

Who wants to commit to losing 5 lbs before the end of the year? Or, maybe you want to lose 10-20 lbs.

What is your goal?

Normal Weight Obesity

Calculate Your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator:

What is your BMI??

BMI is a ratio of height and weight to help determine the health status of an individual.

Underweight = BMI < 18.5
Normal weight = BMI 18.5-24.9
Overweight = BMI 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI > 30

Although BMI works well in most cases there are limitations to using this method.

The more accurate way to determine health in an individual is looking at body fat percentage.

Women should be 30% body fat or below
Men should be 20% body fat of below

How to determine body fat.
Many methods are used to determine body fat. The most accurate way is to do either underwater weighing or the Bodpod, but these tests can be expensive.

Local gyms or doctors offices typically have other methods such as skin callipers or biological impedance (Tanita scales).

Different scenarios

Have you ever been around that person who is a "twig" but eats a ton of junk and doesn't work out? Their BMI may be in a normal weight range, but guaranteed their body fat is above 30% thus placing them at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and many other co-morbidities. I call this a skinny fat person, or normal weight obesity.

Or what about the body builder who has a lot of muscle mass and very low body fat, but their BMI states that they are obese? It would be silly to call a fit individual obese.

It is important to know where you stand! What is your BMI? What is your body fat percentage? Where do you want to be?

What is one change that you would like to make in your diet/exercise pattern to improve your health??