Month: March 2016

Challenges to lose weight have been around for a long time but gained popularity with the introduction of weight loss shows such as The Biggest Loser. You might see weight loss challenges on the internet, be invited to one in real life by a friend, or consider joining a weight loss challenge hosted by your office. Before you jump on the weight loss challenge bandwagon, make sure this type of challenge will be good for your long-term goals.

Years ago, when my weight hovered in the 300-pound range, I had never heard of a weight loss challenge until a friend of mine invited me to join her team for a small community challenge. I declined because I didn’t want to embarrass myself or cause her team to lose because I had never successfully lost weight on my own or in a group. Looking back, I think I made the right decision at the time.

What about you? Will participating in a challenge be a great kick-start to your weight loss goals?

Let’s find out.

Know Your Preferences

Know what your preferences are before you commit to joining a challenge.

If you like to keep your weight loss progress private, a weight loss challenge that requires publicly sharing your weight is not for you. Some weight loss challenges offer secret or private weigh-ins, while others require you to post pictures of you on the scale or weigh with a representative of the challenge.

You may be someone who likes to work out alone or lose weight without group interaction. If so, a challenge that encourages group interaction might not be for you. If, on the other hand, you love the accountability that a group affords, a weight loss challenge may be right up your alley.

Know the Rules

Each weight loss challenge has its own set of rules. Make sure you know what you are getting into. I had a friend who joined a challenge only to discover that she had to pay $50 into the pot for the eventual prize.

• Regular weigh-ins.
• No unhealthy diets.
• No use of commercial weight loss products such as Medifast or Jenny Craig.
• Required meeting attendance—usually for at-work or local challenges.

Pick a Fair and Reputable Challenge

The fairest type of weight loss challenges are those based on losing a percentage of your body weight rather than pounds lost. This evens the playing field between men and women.

If you join a team challenge, ask how the final results for the team are calculated. Some challenges discard the lowest competitor to avoid penalizing a team that has a member drop out. Others do not.

When deciding whether a challenge is fair and reputable, look at online reviews or talk to people who have participated in the challenge before. In general, challenges run by established community organizations are safe to enter.

Don’t Win at All Costs

A weight loss challenge can be a boost to your weight loss efforts, especially if you are motivated by prizes and recognition. Don’t try to win to the detriment of your health, however.

It doesn’t do you any good to starve yourself or exercise for hours a day just to win a prize. Unhealthy dieting habits, whether during a weight loss challenge or not, will never lead to long-term weight loss.

You’ve been running to improve your health and fitness for months now, and although it wasn’t especially easy at the beginning, you finally feel like you’ve found your stride. Over that time you’ve become a much stronger and more confident runner, increasing your distances and picking up the pace too. Now you’re even considering entering your first race, but you’re not exactly sure which one you should start with. Here are some tips to help you decide.

Stay Close to Home 

While the idea of traveling to some exotic place just to compete in a race may sound enticing, you’ll want to avoid doing so for your first event. You’ll have enough on your plate in terms of logistics and planning without having to worry about packing your bags, getting on a plane, and flying across the country.

For your first race, the top priority should be keeping things simple and easy, so look for an upcoming event that is in your hometown or at least in close proximity. Race day will seem hectic enough as it is without adding other unnecessary distractions.

Pick the Proper Distance 

Another key factor to consider is the length of the race. You’ll want to select one that aligns to your current level of fitness and training, even though you may be tempted to try to push yourself to go further.

Come race day, chances are you’ll be excited, nervous, and anxious all at the same time, which means you probably won’t perform at your best. Learning to pace yourself is a key skill, though. It is better to gain some experience in that area on a shorter race than learn a painful lesson on a longer one.

After you’ve gotten a few races under your belt, things are likely to go much better. But when you’re first getting started, choose a distance that you are comfortable with and is easy for you to complete.

Look for a Beginner-Friendly Course 

For your first race, you may want to avoid events that are known for having difficult and demanding courses. Those types of events are better suited for more experienced racers, not those just starting out. If a course has lots of climbing and descending on hills it can really sap the strength from your legs, particularly if you’re not used to that type of running. Courses that are mostly flat will allow you to run at a more consistent pace, which will be useful for your first time out as you work on pre-race preparations, pacing, and running in a crowd. Being able to finish strong will help build confidence for future races too.

Allow Yourself Time to Train 

Although you’ve been running for some time, putting a race on your calendar will generally kick your training schedule into a higher gear. You’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to get ready for the event, which means picking a race that falls on a date that gives you ample time to increase your training in preparation. Don’t pick one that is just a week or two away; instead search for an event that is month or more out. The anticipation will make training more fun, and you’ll find yourself looking forward to the day even more.

Consider Your Budget 

Races can be expensive. Between entry fees, new running gear, pre- and post-event food and drinks, and other miscellaneous expenses, the cost of a simple 5K or 10K can really start to add up. Keep that in mind as you start to narrow down your selections too. After all, you’ve never run a race before, and maybe you won’t enjoy it. You’ll feel a lot worse about the experience if you’ve spent a lot of money but didn’t have a good time.

Are There Any Race Extras? 

Some race directors use every last bit of the entry fee money to put on their event, with little left over for fun extras, such as prizes, t-shirts, or finishing medals for participants. Others go all out and shower their racers with fun swag or even a post-race dinner. Before spending your hard-earned money, take a look at what kind of extras are included with your entry fee. After all, this will be your first race, and you want it to be a memorable experience.

The most important thing to remember when getting ready for your first race is to have fun, enjoy the buildup, and get to know your fellow competitors. It will be quite an experience to say the least, but hopefully it will be just the first of many races to come.

You’ve probably seen those fitness memes that say “Oh, are you sore from working out? But did you die?” No matter how hard you actually do work out, everyone can relate to the feeling of dying from an intense workout.

It seems like workouts just keep getting harder and harder these days. People are lifting more, getting their heart rate up more, and even exercising more, but is it really necessary to work out that hard?

On the one hand, there are many people who don’t work out hard enough. They never really know what it feels like to push a heavy weight or get their heart rate up where it should be.

On the other hand, you have people who are addicted to killer workouts that leave them on the floor begging for a chalk outline to mark the evidence of their death. Instead, a photo is normally taken so the brutality can be posted for all to see on social media.

People are paying big money to be physically beat to a pulp in the gym. It’s a phenomenon that is spreading like wildfire, and I don’t see it dying down anytime soon.

Why do people enjoy the pain? I have a few theories.

1. You are killing yourself in the gym because you are killing yourself in the kitchen.

Many people lack self-control when it comes to eating so they work out more so they can eat more. If they were as disciplined in the kitchen as they were in the gym, though, they’d get results so much faster, and they wouldn’t have to work out nearly as hard.

If you think about it, it’s a lot easier to eat 1,000 calories than it is to burn them. One meal out can cost you 1,000–2,000 calories if you aren’t careful, and it would take you several workouts to erase what you ate in 30 minutes.

When people understand the math of calories in vs. calories out, they end up trying to make it up in the gym with more workouts, tougher workouts, and longer workouts.

Unfortunately some of these crazy hardcore workout peeps never really reap the benefit of their beast-mode workouts because they never get control of their eating. So they become addicted to training because really they are addicted to food.

2. You think that every workout has to be tough to be effective.

Before you can determine what is effective, you have to determine what your goal is. An effective workout means a host of different things depending on the purpose of your workout. You also have to determine what is realistic, safe, and maintainable.

Tough workouts are great, and I do believe every workout should have a certain level of intensity to it, whether your intensity comes from heavy weight or less rest time. But you don’t have to feel like you are about to die every single time you work out for it to be effective.

On the contrary, sometimes you need a light to moderate workout to allow your body to heal from a previously challenging exercise routine. You also have to give your joints time to heal and your muscles time to repair between tough workouts.

Unfortunately, some people (especially the competitive ones) can get more focused on beating a time or getting a new personal record than doing what their body needs that day. You should always listen to your body, whether it is telling you what you need to do today (short-term goals) or it reminds you of your endgame (long-term goals).

3. You have misconceptions of what defines a good workout.

Most people think a hard workout is a workout that takes your breath away. If your heart is racing and you feel like you are about to pass out, then you think that’s a good workout. Or maybe you think a good workout is when you lift a really heavy weight.

In reality, if you want to be physically fit and balanced, you need to train your body using all three metabolic pathways: phosphagen (high power/short duration), glycolytic (moderate power/moderate duration), and oxidative (low power/long duration).

I won’t bore you with the scientific explanation of each metabolic pathway; just understand that we should avoid sticking to one training style.

If you love long-distance runs and think a short run is ineffective you are wrong. Long runs only train our oxidative (aerobic) system. Try short runs with sprint intervals mixed in to build strength and power and improve lung capacity.

Or if you love lifting heavy weight with a lot of rest time in between you’re working more of your phosphagen and glycolytic systems. Try reducing rest time, reducing weight, and increasing intensity with a faster pace to improve endurance.

If you have a magnetic attraction to the iron, you may actually entertain getting off the bench press and getting on the treadmill. Don’t cry, bodybuilders and powerlifters, I know it will be hard but you can do it.

Bottom line, you should never be stuck applying only one training method. Whether you train all three metabolic pathways in one workout or mix it up throughout the week, your workouts should incorporate all three training systems.

4. You enjoy feeling like a beast.

Seriously, some people just like a crazy hard workout because it makes them feel tough. However, there are a lot of people out there doing workouts that are very tough but are the wrong kind of workout for their goals or body type.

There are overweight women powerlifting because they are already strong from lifting their heavy bodies around. So, sometimes heavy women love lifting heavy simply because it is something they are good at. They actually may need to reduce their resistance and do more cardiovascular training to burn more fat and calories.

The fact is, everyone hates doing stuff they stink at. I’m definitely one of those people. I’m the most unflexible person on the planet so I hate yoga, but my body needs it. I will never leave a yoga class feeling like a beast, but it’s what my body needs.

5. You feel guilty if you don’t beat yourself up hard enough in the gym.

I think many people use the gym as a form of punishment for all they do wrong throughout the day. Whether it’s making poor food choices or feeling out of control in other areas of their life, sometimes the only thing people feel like they can control is their body.

So, they lift heavy, run fast, and beat their body into submission to make up for the rest of the day. I know because I used to be one of those people. When I was younger, I hated my job, I had no dating life, and I could barely pay my bills. My life was seriously out of control. The one thing I could control was my body, so I spent way too much time in the gym. I worked out all the time, to the point that it became an unhealthy obsession.

Although exercise is healthy and very important, over-exercise is very unhealthy and can damage your body—and even hurt relationships. Maybe the types of workouts you do are great, but you need to find balance with the amount of training you do.

If you are working out because you don’t feel like you deserve a compliment unless you hit the gym or if you are in the gym to erase the bag of M&Ms you ate the night before, you may be working out too hard for the wrong reasons.

Take the fit test

If you really want to measure your physical fitness, you shouldn’t measure it based on whether you can survive a brutal workout. A more accurate way to measure your fitness is to compare yourself to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) definition of physical fitness. ACSM defines physical fitness as having five specific components.

How many of these five components are you actively improving?

• Cardiovascular endurance
• Muscular strength
• Muscular endurance
• Flexibility/mobility
• Body composition

If you are killing it in the gym but your body composition is still out of whack, something needs to change. If you can run a marathon but you can’t squat your bodyweight then something needs to change. If yo
u are strong and fast but can barely reach your shoes, something has to change.

As you change up your routine to better match your goals, you’ll still have tough workouts. They just may look and feel a little different. The key to a successful workout is not whether it kills you, it’s whether it helps you reach your goals.

The chant my little children use on occasion when accusing a brother of cheating goes something like this: “Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.” If I were to write a chant for weight loss cheaters it might be: “Cheater, cheater, chocolate eater.” I put myself squarely in the frequent diet cheater camp and apply the quote to myself because I was the queen of cheating on my diet. I used a lot of tricks to cheat on my diet, but the only person hurt by my cheating was me. Here are some common diet cheats and solutions on how to stop cheating yourself.

Trick #1: Fudging the Numbers

It’s pretty easy to know how many calories a food has. There is the USDA database, sites like MyFitnessPal, and even books. It’s also pretty easy to fudge your calorie numbers because after all, who but you knows exactly how much ice cream, yogurt, or fruit you ate?

I used to fudge the numbers when I filled out my Weight Watchers booklet, the food diary for my nutritionist, and even in a journal I kept just for myself. In some ways, writing down fewer calories than I ate gave me permission to have just a little bit more for the day. Obviously, you won’t lose weight if you are eating more than you need to drop pounds.

Solution #1

This is an easy one. Just stop. If you eat a bowl of ice cream that is 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup, write it down and calculate the correct number of calories. Be honest with yourself about servings and portions.

Trick #2: Conveniently Forgetting to Write Foods Down

I’ve met with a lot of clients who tell me, “Oh, yeah. I also had a few cookies, two sodas, and a bag of chips but I forgot to write it down.” I understand forgetting to write things down, but if you are doing it all the time you probably aren’t forgetting but choosing to forget.

Solution #2

Write down food and drink immediately after you eat or drink. Don’t wait until that evening or the next day. It all comes back to being honest with yourself.

Trick #3: Blaming a Lack of Weight Loss Anything But Overeating

Weight loss doesn’t happen in a straight line. There are times when you hit a weight loss plateau and times when your weight loss is just plain slow. But, if you are not losing weight at all or keep losing and gaining the same few pounds again and again, you are probably overeating.

Solution #3

For me, acknowledging that I wasn’t really 100 percent into my diet helped me move past the blaming my lack of progress on hormones, the weather, my husband, and the fact I was always tired. It may be that you need to restart your diet, recommit to living a healthier lifestyle, or take a break.

Trick #4: Overestimating Exercise Impact

I didn’t exercise much when I was morbidly obese, but when I did I was very generous with my estimation of how many calories I burned. I’d happily tell myself I had burned 500 or 600 calories during a 10-minute walk and then eat way more food than I needed.

Be skeptical of the calories-burned numbers on the computer panel of exercise machines or websites because they are often overestimated.

Solution #4

Don’t eat back any exercise calories you burn. If you just look at exercise as a way to get more fit and consider the calorie burn as a minor benefit, you will be less likely to reward yourself with extra calories for exercising.

Trick #5: Eating in Secret and Lying About It

Secret eating takes many forms. I ate secretly in the car and while the kids were napping. Other people I know take food into a room and scarf it down while their family is in another room.

I used to fib to my husband when he asked what happened to the ice cream in the freezer. I’d say I didn’t know when I knew exactly what happened to it. I had eaten it all earlier in the day.

Solution #5

Do your best to eat in the company of other people. Never eat in the car or sneak away to stuff some chocolate chips in your mouth.

At the end of the day, the only person you hurt by cheating on your diet is yourself. It doesn’t hurt your family or your friends if you cheat. Just you.

After years of cheating on my diet, I finally acknowledged this truth and lost weight once and for all. Don’t beat yourself up over cheating; instead, acknowledge it happened and promise to turn things around.

We slather our skin with an alarming number of chemicals on a daily basis under the guise of caring for it (or, too often, covering up any evidence of imperfections). A growing number of individuals, though, have been seeking out more natural alternatives. The Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) is one of many skin care regimens making its rounds on blogs and forums alike, with claims of being a near-miracle fix for everything from fine lines to stubborn acne.
Here’s how it works: massage a small amount of castor oil (typically “diluted” with another high quality, cold-pressed oil) onto your face to loosen up all of the oil, dirt, bacteria, and dead skin clogging your pores; then use steam via a hot washcloth to remove it all. It’s meant to be done “regularly but not too frequently,” which is a bit vague but generally measured by how your skin feels. If it’s too dry, back off a bit.
It sounds reassuringly simple, but does it work?

THE PROS

A lot of people do find OCM truly revolutionary. Individuals all over are singing its praises from the virtual rooftops. It removes makeup! It cleans skin without over-drying, because instead of harsh chemicals you’re balancing out the body’s natural oils! It’s inexpensive! It’s luxuriously relaxing!
And you should see the before and after pictures! They’re incredible!
Castor oil, known for its traditional medicinal uses, is the key ingredient. A lot of its skin-healing properties specifically have been attributed to its ricinoleic acid content. If you’re totally freaking out about putting oil on your skin, especially if your skin tends to be oily already (that’s me!), OCM advocates insist that it’s the fact that the cleanser is oil-based that makes it so effective.
The argument is that “like dissolves like,” and in order to clear oil-laced dirt and grime from pores, you can’t rely on water-based cleansers. (Oil and water don’t mix.) In addition to that, the harsh chemicals and soaps in most commercial cleansers dry the skin out, which can actually cause the body to produce more oil, exacerbating the problem in the long run.
Although extensive research hasn’t been done on the subject (not at all uncommon for home remedies and alternative medicines), it makes sense, right? I was certainly convinced. I bought myself some nice, organic castor oil and sweet almond oil, because the internet told me that would be a good combination for my skin, and I dove right in. I was excited! I was optimistic! This was going to be awesome!

THE CONS

It wasn’t awesome. It was very stressful. The first few days were ok, but after about a week, I started noticing far worse breakouts than I had ever had before. You know, breakouts of the gross, cystic, no-amount-of-makeup-is-going-to-hide-this variety. I read about “detox periods,” where skin can flare up a bit for the first week or so, so I stuck it out. Surely it would get better.
It didn’t. It got a lot worse, and I’m not the only one who has experienced this. In fact, the more “research” (blog posts and forums) I read, the more complicated it got. For every few glowing reviews of the method, there were stories exactly like mine.
The anecdotal concerns are not wholly unfounded, either. Some sources say that although oil cleansing works for some, it may wind up clogging what’s known as “problem skin.” Additionally, using a steamy hot washcloth can actually be irritating and cause problems down the road. This last concern isn’t an issue with oil cleansing itself, but with the method that many sources recommend you use to remove the oil from your skin afterward.

THE BOTTOM LINE: FIT…IF YOU DARE.

Are those of us with negative experiences simply doing it wrong? Maybe we haven’t found the right oil blends for our skin. Maybe we should use cooler rags, or better yet, dry ones. Maybe I should be more diligent about not reusing the same washcloth a few (way too many) times. (Oops.) I’m certainly willing to try troubleshooting a little more before throwing in the towel altogether.
Here’s the thing with our health, though. Whether we are talking about nutrition, skin care, physical activity, or any other facet of it: We are all different. I have no doubt that OCM works wonders for many people, but it may not be the right option for me (or you), and that’s ok.
If you’re having trouble with your skin, consider all possible causes and remedies. We can cleanse religiously, but if there’s an underlying problem (diet and hormones being common culprits), OCM is merely a Band-Aid at best.
OCM might help you get by day-to-day while your body heals, but it’s what’s going on under the surface that really matters.