AgeWiseMD

Press Play to hear small ways to make big change in health!

Press Play to listen to the 3/24/2011 broadcast about the options, myths, and benefits of hormonal replacement therapy.

Despite all the positives research on the affect of weight lifting on overall health, many women still fear they will “bulk up,” if they lift weights.  It is simply not true that adding weight training to your exercise regimine will cause you to get bulky.  As a matter of fact, women who lift weights 2 or more times a week can reduce that dreaded abdominal fat, beat stress, reduce risk of heart disease and, well, look better naked. 

Adam Campbell from Women’s Health listed 12 reasons you shouldn’t live another day without lifting weights.  I’ve listed what we believe are the top 5 reasons to weight train…for the full list and description of those reasons, please visit the article in its entiretyby clicking here.

1. You’ll live longer

2.  Your heart will be healthier

3.  You’ll build stronger bones

4.  You’ll be happier

5.  You’ll handle stress better

One of my favorite ways to get added protien and pro-biotics into my diet is to reach for non-fat greek yogurt and for years, my personal favorite has been Chobani!  For many of our clients, ice-cream and other frozen treats are favorites at the end of the day.  I recently saw the following recipe on the CHOBlog and had to share it!  To read the CHOBlog, click HERE! 

Raspberry and Blackberry Frozen Yogurt, with Lemon Sugar and Lavender Cream

2 pints of fresh raspberries OR blackberries

juice of 1/2 lemona 

about 1/3-1/2 C granulated sugar (depending on how sweet your berries are)  

12 oz. of 2% Plain Chobani Greek Yogurt (approximately 1 1/4 C)1 tsp vanilla extract  

Lemon sugar (optional): Zest of 1 lemon2 tbsp granulated sugar  

Lavender cream (optional): 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar1/4 tsp vanilla extract  

A few drops of lavender extractSpecial Equipment: a food processor or blender, and an ice cream maker  

In a food processor or blender, combine the berries, lemon juice, and sugar.  Process or blend until the mixture is fully pureed and smooth, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.  In a large bowl, mix together the Chobani Greek Yogurt, the berry puree, and the vanilla extract until smooth.  Transfer to the bowl of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to ice cream maker instructions; then transfer to the freezer to freeze completely.  (Alternatively, place yogurt puree in the freezer for about 2 hours; then remove and mix throughly by hand, then return to the freezer until completely frozen.) To serve, scoop frozen yogurt into bowls and top with lavender cream and lemon sugar.To make lemon sugar: mix zest of 1 lemon with 2 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar.  Covered, will keep for 1 week.  

To make lavender cream: using a stand mixer or whisk, whip heavy cream with granulated sugar until it holds firm peaks.  Mix in vanilla extract and lavender extract, and whip again until hold firm peaks again.  Can be stored in the refrigerator overnight, mix until smooth before using.

  No matter how successful, serious, or old, we all have one: an inner 5 year old.  And that inner 5 year old is desparate for guidance.  When I’m coaching someone in health and we discuss the difficult changes one makes to find health, we spend a fair amount of time on this topic.  For instance, if your 5 year old said to you, “Mom/Dad/Auntie/Really good family friend, it was a hard day on the play ground, all I want to do is sit down with a half a gallon of milk and the package of Oreo’s.”  You’d probably get all parental and tell them that there are better ways to cope with a bad day.  Or if it’s dessert time and your 5 year old tells you they want two brownies instead of one and you say, “It’s one or none,”  I tell my clients that this is exactly the type of advice we should be giving ourselves.

Sure, it’s great, we’re grown ups and if we want pizza, beer and ice cream for breakfast, we can have it, no one can or will stop us.   And it becomes more and more difficult to make choices in health because for many of us, in moments of stress, we let the 5 year take the wheel and make our health choices for us. 

Often, my clients tell me that when they are about to “go off the wagon” so to speak, they hear my voice in their head.  My voice reminding them of their goals, their health needs, and why they’ve chosen this path to begin with.  They hear my voice telling them an alternative to the choice they are about to make.  The reality is, that voice is really theirs, but for the time being, they hear mine because that inner 5 year old is listening and it needs another voice giving the instructions.  Eventually, once they regain the trust of their inner 5 year old, the voice they hear will, indeed, be theirs…and the 5 year old will still listen.

Here is a radio program I did about a month ago in which we discuss small ways to make big change.  Enjoy!  Click here to play the broadcast.  (There is a brief pause between the segments so keep listening!)

This article published in the economist on December 9, 2010, explains why taking an aspirin a day can keep away a lot of nasty diseases!

FOR thousands of years aspirin has been humanity’s wonder drug. Extracts from the willow tree have been used for pain relief in folk medicine since the time of the ancient Greeks. By 1897 a synthetic derivative (acetyl salicylic acid) of the plant’s active ingredient (salicin) was created. This allowed aspirin to become the most widely used medicine in the world.

Follow this link for the rest of the story!  The Economist: Wonder Drug, Aspirin Continues to Amaze

A common theme over the holidays and other special events is to hear people say, “There aren’t any calories in the food, it’s a celebration!”  Well, I’m here to break the news that not only are there calories in that food, but our favorite holiday foods are so calorically dense that one day of celebrating packs on nearly half the average weight gain for the entire holiday season. 

Did you know that the average American consumes between 12,000 and 17,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day?  Assuming a 2,000 calorie a day diet, that’s between 6-9 DAYS worth of calories. 

Considering that one pound is the equivalent of 3,500 calories, means a weight GAIN (again, assuming a 2,000 calorie diet) of 3 – 4.5 pounds.  That’s in one day.  And that’s real weight.  It’s no wonder that the average weight gain between Halloween and New Years is 7-15 pounds!

Essentially this means that one would consume a surplus of calories in the neighborhood of 10,500 – 15,575 calories. 

Let’s think about what it takes to burn off 10,500 – 15,750 calories.  We could start with creating a nutritional plan of 1500 calories/day.  That creates a daily deficit of 500 calories or a weekly deficit of 3,500 calories.  That’s one pound!  It took you one day to gain 3+ pounds and a week of caloric deficit to lose 1 pound. 

But wait!  There’s more!

As Americans we want it all now, so to make this process go faster, let’s add some exercise.

The average person burns about 8 calories/minute of high impact aerobic exercise.  That’s 480 calories an hour.  Because most people spend about 10 minutes at the beginning and 10 minutes at the end “warming up,” at low intensity, let’s assume 40 solid minutes of high intensity aerobic exercise, which leaves us with a net burn of 320 calories.

Weight training is critical to building lean body mass, which doesn’t just look better than body fat, it burns more calories per pound than body fat which makes it far more efficient in the weight management cycle.  If you lift weights for 30 minutes at medium intensity, you can assume an average per minute burn of 6 calories/minute.  That’s an additional 180 calories burned. 

If you exercised everyday in conjuction to the aforementioned caloric restriction, you would have a daily average caloric deficit of 1,000 calories/day.  This means that it would take you nearly two full weeks of focused caloric restriction paired with intense daily exercise to get back down to the weight you were prior  to eating that one meal.
Does this mean you can’t enjoy your Thanksgiving meal with your family?  Of course not!

Here are five simple tips to make it through Thanksgiving Day and avoid shopping for bigger pants on Black Friday:

1)  Eat a balanced and nutritous breakfast.  Skipping meals prior to Thanksgiving Dinner will make it even more likely that you will eat more than you’d like. 

Try this:  4 ounces bell pepper, 3 ounces mushrooms, 1 ounce spinach, 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites (scrambled with whole egg).  Sautee veggies about 4 minutes or until done, add eggs, cook until desired doneness.  174 calories, 5.7g fat, 10.8g carbs, 20.6g protein, and 3.6 grams of fiber. 

2)  Enjoy your wine with your meal.  It’s true, red wine has many health benefits but more than one 5-7 ounce glass for women (2 for men!) and the health benefits rapidly decline.  Each 5-7 ounce glass has 120-175 calories.  Not to mention that the alcohol quiets your voice of reason when face to face with your favorite aunt’s famous sticky buns!

Try this:  Bring sparkling water and lime and sip from a wine glass.

3)  Think of your calories like money, where do you want to spend them?  Chances are you wouldn’t normally eat most of the food served during holiday meals, so why pile it up now?  You wait all year for a sticky bun and pumpkin pie?  You might die if you don’t have extra gravy on your mashed potatoes?  Decide what really matters to you during this meal and have it.  Serve yourself a normal portion and enjoy it.  Enjoy your slice of pumpkin pie.  Share a sticky bun with three of your cousins.  In reality, what you really want is a taste and beyond that first mouth watering bite, it’s just not worth the thousands of extra calories.

Try this:  When you finish eating, leave the table.  Grab some kids and run around the yard.  It might seem like the holidays are all about food, but they’re really about those connections we have with the people who matter most.  Make this Thanksgiving a tribute to your your health so that you may spend many more holidays enjoying your loved ones.

4)  Don’t slip into a turkey coma after dinner.  While the rest of the family is napping or watching football, grab a few willing souls and start a football game of your own.  Remember, the point of the gathering is to be with each other. 

Try this:  Bring a rubber “kick ball” with you and organize teams of boys against the girls or aunts and uncles against the nieces and nephews.  Losing team does the dishes for Mom!

5)  Plan ahead.  Think about the meal you are about to face and consider whether or not you want to pay for it for nearly two weeks when it’s over.  It’s like charging a bad vacation that you keep paying on for months!  Make a plan and stick to it.  You will likely still eat more than a normal day, but with these simple tips, your overindulgence will likely only equate to a few hundred extra calories, versus several thousands!

Great Article in the New York Times discussing whether retirement contributes to cognitive decline.

Taking Early Retirement May Retire Memory, Too

By GINA KOLATA

There aren’t many people who will say they enjoy going to the gym.  Fact is, in our modern world full of conviences designed to make us have to move less, we simply to do not get the amount of movement our bodies need to function well in our daily lives.   The “gym” or “health club” was designed to fill that void.  Unfortunately, in our hectic schedules, getting to the gym and sticking to a routine, often seems impossible.  Read on for some common reasons to skip the gym and our suggestions for overcoming your excuses:

1. I Don’t Have Time!: Our busy lives seem to exclude time for exercise, but truth is, exercise can keep you vital to perform all of the other tasks you need to perform throughout your week.  It’s easy to break a promise to ourselves to make it to the gym, much harder to stand up a friend.  Find a workout partner (or two) who will meet you for your workout.  It’s one thing to stand yourself up, quite another to leave your friend in the lurch.  Schedule your workout as a meeting that is critical to your success. Just like accomplishing any other goal, planning is critical for success.  And if you’re really pressed for time, knock out 100 squats and 100 push-ups during your breaks at work.  Do them in sets of 10 or 20 throughout the day on days that you really can’t get to the gym. 
2. I’m Too Tired!: Jobs, kids, school, spouses, housework…all things that top our priority list and often make us feel too tired to take care of ourselves.  Consider this, exercise helps produce endorphins which make you feel happy and more relaxed.  One of our clients told me recently, “I go to the gym after work so that I can have an hour to myself to relax before going home to the chaos of the evening.”  Her chaos involved getting home, starting dinner, helping with homework, tidying the house, etc.  She views her time at the gym as her “me time.”  If you’ve ever flown, you’re familiar with the flight attendant speech about what will happen in the event that the cabin loses pressure.  You are advised by the flight attendant to secure your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else who may need assistance.  Why?  Because you are no good to anyone passed out in the aisle from lack of oxygen.  Exercising is the same thing.  Take care of yourself so that you can be there to do all the things the people in your life need you to do.
3. I’ve Been Working Out and I Haven’t Seen Results, So What’s the Point?!:  Take a look at your nutrition.  Often times, people will start a workout plan with the intention to lose weight and get into shape…and they never look at what they are eating.  Quite simply, there isn’t a workout in the world that will make up for a poor diet.  Write down your food when you eat it, taking care to note how much and how many calories.  You can’t know if you’re eating too much or too little if you don’t know how much you’re eating.  If your diet has a lot of processed foods it may feel as if you don’t eat much, but the truth is that processed food is calorically dense and nutritionally poor.  Diets rich in whole foods, lean proteins, fruits and veggies are nutritionally dense and calorically poor, which means you can eat a lot more for a lot fewer calories.
4. I’m Bored With My Workout: To put it simply, boring is as boring does.  Shake it up.  Try a new class at a new gym.  Put yourself outside of your comfort zone and try something you never thought you try.  Hot Yoga?  Zumba?  Add some spice to your workout and you’ll find it more fun to show up.  Another option may be to give yourself a goal.  Have you always wanted to run a marathon?  Many athletic stores offer workshops for beginning a running training plan.  Grab a friend and make it happen.  Choose a race that benefits a cause that is special to you.  Any way you look at it, find something that will inspire you in new ways to enjoy your work out.

And remember, if there were an exilir for longevity, it would be exercise.  We were made to move so get out there and move it!

You’ll often hear us say that when it comes to weight loss and weight management, there isn’t a work-out in the world that will make up for a poor diet. 

The fact is, proper nutrition is the key not just to losing weight, but to keeping it off.  Of all the numbers we know about ourselves, cholesterol, weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, etc., the one number anyone attempting to lose weight should know, but most don’t is their RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate.  This is the number that corresponds to the number of calories your body consumes while at rest.  It’s the amount of energy you need in order to simply exist. 

Each person is unique and every person has a different RMR. Most nutritional planning in weight loss uses the assumption that 1200-1500 calories a day in addition to regular exercise will result in adequate weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week.  But what if it turns out that your RMR is only 1150?  Or what if it’s 2100?  You could be consuming too many or too few calories for effective weight loss and weight management. 

While on the one hand you can’t know how much you are eating if you don’t weigh, measure, and write down your food, it’s impossible to know how much to eat, without knowing your RMR. 

At AgeWiseMD we offer body composition and RMR screening for the package price of only $225.  That cost includes not just testing but a one on one consultation to help you make the right choices as you embark on your journey to healthy body weight and greater fitness. 

And if you want one on one counseling throughout your weight loss journey, click here to learn about our 12 week weight management program.  It includes 12 weeks of 1:1 counseling, meal planning, accountability, support, and even an in home visit to show you how easy pre-planning and food preparation can make your life.