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I was scourging the Internet today and noticed a NPR article entitled, “Hotel Maids Challenge the Placebo Effect” that caught my attention. The article is in reference to a study by Harvard psychologists, Ellen Langer and Alia Crum entitled, “Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect.” I do not like articles like this that do not have the study information. As much as I like NPR, I want to read the underlying study myself to see if I agree with the gist of the article. I had to search by the researchers name along with the word maid and I finally found the name of the study. I then connected to my alma matter (university) library and pulled a copy of the study. I will evaluate this study from a layman’s perspective (I have a MBA and while I can read this study and draw some conclusions, I am not a psychologist).
While researching this topic I did find the link to the Surgeon Generals Health Weight Advice for Consumers here. The advice in a nutshell is to have a goal, keep active and eat well. The page has a lot of information that can assist a person to make wise decisions about diet and exercise. I will go over this study and point out some areas I think have merit as well as a couple of logical problems. I think anyone interested in this study should read the actual study for yourself but I will be glad to venture my opinion.
This is just a quick note to say I have lost 35 pounds so far since the beginning of the year. I am now 225 pounds! I’m multitasking right now so no sage wisdom or wit but rather just the pure joy at achieving another few pounds! I only have 11 more pounds to go till I am just overweight (compared to obese!)!
I had only eaten 500 calories before I got home from work and did a long workout. My wife and step-daughter came home from the Olive Garden with leftovers just in the nick of time. Needless to say I am easily around 1500 calories for the day. As always… if you create a goal and work steadily towards it.. you will achieve it! Hang in there… it is working for me!
We here at LeanAnMean scourge the ends of the earth to find the latest fitness craze for your benefit! I was looking at CNN the other day and was surprised to find a “Pole Dancing Health Minute” video. I don’t know about you but I had always associated pole dancing with exotic dancing at clubs. I did not know there were other valid applications of pole dancing that might entice house wives and professional women alike!
Some of the perceived benefits for woman are (1) feeling desirable, (2) exercise, and (3) just a new fun way to lose extra pounds! I will examine these three points and as well as discuss the benefits of exercise for any weight-loss plan. I should say that when I say ‘weight-loss’ that I really mean ‘fat-loss’! Yes I think that women look better with lean body mass versus the gaunt look that women who starved themselves, look like.
I know women think guys look better when we have some muscle definition after we lose weight. Why do I bring this up? Losing weight is the politically correct way to say fat loss. It is easier not to offend someone by using the term of ‘weight-loss’ but everyone should know you/I are not talking about starving yourself! I found a youtube video with a news story about “Goddess Dance Studio” pole dancing classes for health and fitness.
While perusing the internet I found this study published by the New England Journal of Medicine! The study at first seemed promising as it compared low-fat, Mediterranean and low-carb diets. As I read the abstract I started getting confused.
Methods In this 2-year trial, we randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters], 31; male sex, 86%) to one of three diets: low-fat, restricted-calorie; Mediterranean, restricted-calorie; or low-carbohydrate, non–restricted-calorie.
Ok - so far so good but it seemed a little off-kilter already with 86% of the participants being men. The confusing part to me after reading the two-year results (converted into pounds) were:
- The low-fat group lost 6.39 pounds
- The Mediterranean group lost 9.70 pounds
- The low-carbohydrate group lost 10.36
I am going to point out the study’s results, benifits and then the logical problems that many readers of this study might notice (at least I did). I will also speak about existing alternatives that work (I have lost 30 pounds so far since the beginning of the year). I found this Hardee’s low-carb Goldilocks spoof in honor this study’s low-carb diet winner for your perusal.
Part of any diet, whatever flavor you decide, is to stay with the/your plan more often than not. As readers of this blog know, I espouse the view that the diet does not matter so much (as long as it makes sense) as your ability to live with the diet. What am I talking about? Well now… I think you have to like what you eat.
When my doctor told me that my cholesterol was too high and I had to lose weight, on my most recent physical, I decided that I could no longer afford the luxury of eating real eggs because they were too high in cholesterol. I still liked eating egg sandwiches but I had to find a reasonable substitute that would not only meet my goal of eating less cholesterol but also taste good enough for me to stick with the substitute! Generally I eat a quick egg sandwich (made with an egg substitute) but today I made some delicious scrambled eggs! I will speak more on ways to find good tasting substitutes for any diet as well as how I am able to stay on track. Here is a picture of this morning’s breakfast.
I am happy to report that my weight loss is on track again after a couple month period of a plateau! Yes plateaus happen when one is trying to lose the weight. When you find yourself wondering what is going on and if it is not going to work - I’m going down the block to get my double meat Whopper that I really like (yes, I have been there), consider this.
- You did not gain the weight overnight so why do you expect to take it off overnight? Really?
- Whatever way to lose the fat you decide to try - probably has some merit (assuming you have done some research) so why not give it a chance?
- If one way does not work for you - step back and evaluate the pros and cons. Then start researching a diet and exercise plan that works and you like.
In this post I will share what is working for me and how I have got to this point. Before I start I want you to know there is no secret or path to enlightenment that I have discovered but after trying a bunch of diets (read my diet book entitled, “Slimmer Zimmer” available free on this site) but finding out what can work for you! Everyone will have something. I am doing a combination of a diet (I will go into) and walking. Yes the exercise portion is walking. I have found a site, “in motion” from the city of Saskatoon, that gives some walking tips.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a woman say she did not want to get on a scale over my lifetime, but it would be from almost every woman I know! I remember a funny story about a girl that was tall but weighed as much as me at the time. I weighed about 155 pounds and she was full-bodied… you know like a Marylin Monroe type of body. I thought she look just fine but as a 5′ 10″ woman, she thought she was fat. I just looked up 155 pounds for a 5′ 10″ person and that is not fat!
Lets look at some gender differences concerning how the sexes measure weight loss as well as how preceived weight affects women versus men. I found one funny video about a woman going to great lengths to make weight on a scale.
I found this great website about Dietgirl! What might you ask is a “Dietgirl? well she is a transplanted Aussie lass that now resides in Scotland. I started to read about her story and was pleasantly surprised to find a great sense of humor as she dealt with weighty issues. Her name is Shauna Reid and her website is called The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl! Here is a picture of her book entitled, “The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl!
I read this story on CNN yesterday about an English professor’s journey from fat to fit! Muata Kamdibe’s experience goes to show you that if he can lose weight by himself, most anyone should be able to do the same! Dr. Kamdibe gained part of his weight the same way I did - in school. If he was like me… the stress of trying to keep his grades up while juggling other areas of life, led to letting loose with the eating (the one area of life we most often CAN control). The CNN article is here. Here is the video of the interview. Oops… I just noticed that the video has been removed. His story is interesting though - please review the video in the CNN article above.
According to Wikipedia, “Kata… literally: “form”… is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs.” My interest in this blog, is to point out the fitness benefits of katas. My background in Kenpo Karate (specifically Chinese Kenpo derived from Tracys Karate - now AKKA (American Kenpo Karate Association)) has put me in a good position to use katas as a way to get into shape.
What are katas you might ask? The simple answer is a kata combines a bunch of martial arts moves into a kind of dance. A practitioner of karate or kung fu practices katas for exercise and improving one’s form in there respective martial art. My interest now in katas (I’m already a 5th degree black-belt) are for improving my lifetime fitness. Movie stars in action films have to learn fighting sequences for their movies that are akin to katas. I did a post on my other site, MySelfDefenseBlog.com about the fight senes Milla Jovovich had to do in her movie Ultraviolet here! Here is a sample of katas performed by the Kung Fu Femmes troupe at Las Vegas for your perusal.
Many of us face the same dilemma - Finding ourselves fat and trying to lose the weight. I have been there and I am here again, but I am not disheartened because I know what got me to this point. You see I am a stress eater. That means whenever anything is happening in my life I generally comfort myself with food (the one thing I can control).
If you have read my Free Diet Book, “Slimmer Zimmer,” you would realize that one way (if you are able to commit) one can lose the weight without the fad diets, is by walking! True one will have to watch the food higher in fat and sweets, but you can walk daily and take the weight off! Here is a short clip of Nancy Sanatra walking (OK - this is a stretch) in her song, “These Boots are made for Walking.” 
My health care provider (Kaiser Health Care) suggested that I get a flexible sigmoidoscopy since I am 50 years old. This test is a scope that views part of the intestinal tract. My test was good in that no masses or polyps were found but another common condition in older people was identified - diverticulosis. To quote Kaisers portion of the patient instruction about diverticulosis:
“Diverticulosis is a condition of the colon and not a disease. Diverticulosis comes from a Latin word meaning small diversion from the normal path. When weak spots form in the colon wall and cause and cause small pouches to bulge out, these weakened areas are called diverticula. Fifty percent of Americans over the age of 60 have diverticulosis. Usually there are no symptoms from this condition.”
Update: I’ve been told by my doctor that being overweight is also a cause of diverticulosis becuase of additional pressure (caused by the extra weight). Losing weight will reduce the pressure.
The advice to mitigate possible issues with diverticulosis is increasing fiber in one’s diet. I found a video on fiber below.
In this day and age where low-fat diets are starting to lose their allure as well as claims that other diets are better, I am going from a moderate-fat diet to my low-fat diet! The main reasons for this change of tactics is the results of my physical at Kaiser as well as only treading water for the past month on my weight loss! I’ll address both issues in this post but first I would like point out a Time article here, that basically stating that low-fat diets still have validity even though many people are not sticking with the diet (I’d say most diets have this problem!). Here is a funny clip of a woman trying to be alluring.
I was very happy the other day when I weighed less than 240! I thought I would celebrate by cooking myself a reward breakfast! My wife was gone somewhere as was my step-daughter so I started rummaging through the fridge. I found some home made chili, eggs, cheese and potatoes. I shredded a large potato and started some hash browns… if you have ever cooked hash browns, you know to cook it good - you need lots of oil.
As the hash-browns were cooking I started whipping up six eggs for the chili-cheese omelette I was making. When I was done I had a feast fit for a king! One thing though… this was ostensibly my reward for my diet and exercise over the last couple of weeks to get to this weight… did I really want to blow my diet and eat the feast? Yes! But, I was feeling kind of guilty so I brought my dogs out to the patio to help out!
The reward breakfast, maybe not such a good reward?
Anyone how has dieted for any time at all knows what a diet plateau is and how madding it can be. For the last two weeks I have been weighing in at about a three pound range! Many of you might be worried about this but I have been through this before as my “Free Diet Book Here!” states.
What can you do about this? I found a post here that talks about changing things up to surmount your plateau! Basically according to the diet-blog.com post, you will need to vary your calories, add strength training, modify your exercise routine, change your nutrients, and/or meal frequency.
Picture from here. This picture is how a person on a diet should pick foods to stay healthy.