Conn. Health I-Team Writer

Last fall, Sharon Boland was worried shed never lose the extra 70 pounds she was carrying. At age 54, everyone told her, it would be nearly impossible to slim down.

Ive probably carried weight most of my life, said Boland, a business lawyer who lives in Greenwich, but she had gained an extra 25-30 pounds in the previous few years.

Her friends were right: It is undeniably harder to lose weight after about age 50. Eating and exercise habits that worked fine during the 30s and 40s can quickly lead to extra pounds and paunches a decade or two later.

People also tend to get less active in their 50s, with no more small children in the house and more aches with which to contend.

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Further, the body loses more muscle with every passing decade. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the less muscle, the fewer calories burned while going through lifes routines.

But experts emphasize that middle-age weight gain isnt inevitable.

Its not a done deal that everyones going to gain weight, said Catherine Staffieri, a registered dietitian with Greenwich Hospitals Center for Behavioral and Nutritional Health.

And weight loss remains possible even as middle age progresses, she and other experts insist.

Boland, now 55, is living proof.

She didnt lose much when she tried a well-known diet plan in October, or when she began lifting weights with a personal trainer a few weeks later. But in December, when she combined a nutritionists advice with twice-weekly coached workouts and 30-minute walks on other days, the pounds started falling off.

Im down 29 pounds, she said with pride and some amazement. I know I can go all the way down, because this is effortless. For the first time in my life, I think Im going to see what my body really looks like without extra padding.

Everyone needs fewer calories as they age. Staffieri estimates that most 50-year-olds need 200-500 less per day than they did in their 20s and 30s.

Weight gained in middle age also tends to clump around the belly, which increases the risk for heart disease and metabolic disorders, she said.

And theres a lot of stress in the 50s and 60s, as aging parents sicken, children still need support, and the financial demands of retirement loom, said Mireille Blacke, a dietitian-nutritionist and bariatric center program coordinator at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.

The easiest place to stop taking care of yourself is with food and nutrition, Blacke said. Sleep, too, often gets short-shrift, which can affect metabolism and make it harder to lose weight, she said.

Everyone loses muscle mass as they age. For women, body fat increases on average of 1 to 4 percent during menopause, slowing the metabolism down by 10 to 15 percent, said Barbara Schmidt, Bolands nutritionist and a nutrition lifestyle program specialist at Norwalk Hospital.

This shift leads to a weight gain of about 12 pounds for a woman going through menopause who doesnt eat less or exercise more, said Schmidt, who also runs a hypertension program for the Department of Health in Greenwich. The same process happens with men, but more gradually.

Losing weight at any age drives up levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, making people feel hungrier than if they werent trying to lose weight, according to Dr. Maria Cecilia Asnis, an endocrinologist at the Stamford Health Medical Group, who says that people are not overweight because of a lack of willpower.

An overweight body does whatever it can to conserve calories, Asnis said, so someone who is obese and trying to lose weight will probably need to eat about 15 percent fewer calories a day than someone who has been in the normal range and is just trying to drop a few pounds.

Weight loss for someone who is heavy requires an enormous amount of willpower and very few calorieswhich is difficult to sustain, Asnis said.

Thats why people with a lot of weight to lose may need the extra help of medications or surgery, which change the bodys regulatory mechanisms, she said. Medications can generally lead to a 7 to 10 percent loss of body weight, she said, while people who undergo surgery can drop 50 to 60 percent of their excess weight.

Schmidt likes to consider food and exercise as her medications.

Combating middle age weight gain requires speeding up your metabolismand theres no better way to do that than by pumping some iron, Schmidt said. Many times, women are doing cardio, cardio, cardio. But they need to do weight training, weight training, weight training.

Transforming fat into muscle increases the metabolism and helps the body burn more calories naturally, she said.

Women over 50 should be doing weight training twice a week, in addition to getting some aerobic activity at least 30 minutes a day the rest of the week.

In terms of diet, Schmidt recommends filling your plate at least half full with vegetables before adding carbs. And not all carbs are created equal: minimize processed foods and sugar, she advised.

If Im eating foods that are high in fiber, its going to take more energy for my body to process it, and therefore Im going to be taking in fewer total calories, she said.

For her part, Boland said its the combination of eating more carefully and building muscle that has made such a big difference for her.

Youve got to marry the two, she said. Its bizarre how well it works.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org)

Read more:
Connecticut experts: Weight loss gets harder, but still possible after 50 - New Haven Register

Hiking and spending time outdoors is one of the staples of the programs offered at Skyterra Wellness Retreat in Lake Toxaway.(Photo: Courtesy of Denman Bennett Images)

LAKE TOXAWAY - Dawnrae Wilson arrived at Skyterra Wellness Retreat in early April as a self-described broken person.

She was 29, working as a graphic designer in Charlotte, and so miserable with her life, her weight, her emotional pain, that Wilson was actively considering assisted suicide.

She wasnt looking for a miracle pill she had self-medicated enough but for someone or something to pull her out of the dark hole her life had become. Endless Googling for wellness and weight loss retreats led her to Skyterra, a magically beautiful getaway surrounded by state park and national forest land in the scenic resort town of Transylvania County.

Wilson checked in, and 10 weeks later, on June 16, she was set to graduate into a new life, with so much happiness in her voice, it was sometimes hard for her to get the words out quickly enough.

In my teen years I went through a very difficult personal situation. My mom and I talked about what would be most beneficial for me. We wanted something like Skyterra, but it didnt exist. I looked at a Buddhist retreat in Tibet and a yoga retreat in the Maldives, and about 30 other wellness, health-related resorts, Wilson said.

During my latest research I found Skyterra. I remember telling my mom, That place now exists. Someone created it for me.

Even in a nearly blinding downpour on the day visitors met with 16 guests at Skyterra, the name of the health, fitness and weight loss spa shone through the wet air and the dripping leaves.

Now in operation a year in the scenic resort town in Transylvania County, Skyterra has welcomed some 300 guests who come for a week or for months to get intense about their physical, mental and emotional well-being. A big part of the spas philosophy on helping to heal a persons whole body is based on the therapeutic effects of the outdoors.

Science backs up the feeling that being active, or simply being in nature, in the forest, in green spaces beyond offices, noise, computers, blinking screens and beeping text messages, can result in positive psychological and physical benefits, said Sue Crowell, Skyterra founder.

Skyterra is a health and wellness program centered around each person's unique journey. The facility includes a variety of fitness and wellness classes and activities, with everything from yoga and aquatic chi to hiking.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)

She did her research, and said that learning to mindfully soak up the fragrance and peacefulness of a forest has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and blood pressure.

A literature review study published in Health Promotion International in 2005 found that in the past few hundred years as people have become increasingly disconnected from the outdoors, shifting from rural to urban areas, there has also been an increase in non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as mental, behavioral and social health problems.

A 2015 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, found that a walk in the woods can be a powerful mood booster. People who walked for 90 minutes in a natural area, as opposed to those who walked in a high-traffic urban area, showed decreased activity in a region of the brain associated with a key factor in depression.

Crowell and her sister Teresa Ostler, a registered nurse, both had a background in health and wellness, but each struggled with their own state of well-being, which they say was mostly derived from stress.

After college, Crowell worked at the School of Urban Wilderness Survival, where she gained a passion for wilderness therapy that led her to earn a masters degree in psychology.

Crowell invested in a wellness company, but said she was looking for something more.. She was so busy as a corporate executive she was neglecting her own health.

She and Ostler began taking healthy living vacations at a resort in South Carolina. That idea, of health, fitness and well-being immersion, clicked a switch.

Crowell and Ostler launched Skyterra in the prettiest place they could find in Western North Carolina, once a luxury, gated resort, with 317 acres of mountains, woods, streams and waterfalls, with extravagantly comfy cabins, where they could use the outdoor setting to promoteindividualized wellness retreats.

Participants live in cottages tucked in the woods around Lake Toxaway.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)

I wanted to do something that makes a difference in peoples lives, Crowell said.

Some people come for specialized needs, some people come here and think, I dont know what I need, and realize they suffer from stress. Its a full circle approach, not just health and wellness, she said.

The retreat has had 300 guests in the past year, from across the country, and from foreign countries including England, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Scotland and Egypt, Crowell said.

It is only open to 16 guests a week. They are all ages, from all backgrounds, most are women, but men are most welcome, and each has their own private bedrooms, although residents quickly become buddies. They come to shed weight, to learn to treat themselves better, transition from cancer or from alcoholism.

To an outsider the scene of water yoga, stand-up paddle boarding, outdoor tai chi and TRX classes might look like adult summer camp. But beyond the fun, there is something deeper going on.

Participants sweat in the state-of-the-art gyms, guided by instructors in rowing, spinning, running on treadmills and working out on Pilates machines, all with soothing views of the woods.

The word exercise is rarely used. It can have a bad connotation, something forced and artificial, said director of operations Amber Shadwick.

Skyterra is no Biggest Loser, where pounds are lost through humiliation, screaming trainers and vomit-inducing workouts.

The real idea is fitness to keep a body in motion, in any form of activity, the way we were before the rise of sit-down jobs, said Shadwick, leading a forest walk to a waterfall, a yoga class in an open air treehouse, or cardio classes, always encouraging.

Our goal is to meet individuals where they are on their journey, Shadwick said. We give each individual life skills around living a healthy and active life.

Some 60 classes are offered, including meditation, dance, strength training, water yoga, kayaking and fly-fishing. Guests choose what they want, and the layers of fat and stressstart to silently peel away.

Margie Dimakis, 40, came to Skyterra from New Hampshire, to work on her weight and her emotional and mental well-being. She said she couldnt find all those things under one roof in a traditional hospital setting.

She came for a week, and kept extending her stay. In late May Dimakis had been at Skyterra for six weeks.

They wanted me here, she said of the staff, and the friends she made with other guests. Every day I see a profound difference. It doesnt come without tears.

She said weigh-ins are private and only take place once a week. Dimakis said she was losing weight without trying, but its not about the numbers. She was trying things she had never done.

Im not an outdoors person, she said. But here I was after a hike, sweaty and muddy and I could care less because I was proud of myself.

Kate Hannon, director of integrative wellness, holds private sessions and leads group classes. In a soul card class one rainy day, the group sat inside always with a view of the outside discussing what a soul card image meant to them.

Andrea Espinosa picked a card where she saw an oceaniclight-filled image.

It might have to do with change, moving through something new, Hannon said. There is a lot of emphasis being placed on your head, something radiating out.

[From left to right] Skyterra attendees Margie Dimakis, Andrea Espinosa, Vicki Busch, and Director of Integrated Well-Being Kate Hannon share their thoughts during a soul card activity. Each card has a different image and each woman was asked to discuss what they saw. This activity teaches participants to listen to their hearts and trust their gut, using the cards to think on a deeper level.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)

Change comes first in your head and radiates out, into a darker color. I like the idea of moving through the darkness, Espinosa said. What Ive learned here most is listening to myself.

Aside from the hiking and paddle boarding, perhaps the favorite activity at Skyterra is eating. Registered dietitian Eleni Ottalaganaworks with gourmet chef Casey Maness to prepare every meal.

Maness uses organic, farm fresh vegetables, whole foods, wild caught seafood, high quality meats, liberally spiced with fresh herbs instead of sugar and salt, and goats milk and cheese instead of dairy. The idea is to eat nourishing food, refined as little as possible, with anti-inflammatory properties, Ottalagana said.

For breakfast, plates are heaped with salad greens and avocados rather than stacked with pancakes, butter and syrup. Greens are the new toast, Ottalagana said.

A comfort food, low-calorie lunch consists of lobster bisque thick and creamy with a homemade cashew sauce to start, a cauliflower bisque for vegetarians, then roasted red pepper chicken salad, locally sourced, over fresh greens and other raw vegetables, and a chickpea salad alternative.

No alcohol is served, although guests can bring their own. For snacks there are plenty of fruits andnuts, but the favorite is golden milk, a concoction of full fat coconut milk, turmeric, black pepper, vanilla, cardamom, and other anti-inflammatory ingredients, thick and golden colored, served up like hot chocolate.

Setting fitness or other goals are not required, but many guests find them helpful. Wilson set three goals within her first week at Skyterra: fitness, self-care and nutrition.

Participants Margie Dimakis, left, and Dawnrae Wilson, right, became friends at Skyterra Fitness, a new health and wellness spa in Lake Toxaway.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)

Working with Shadwick and recreation direction Ellwood Crowell, Wilson planned a one-day, 20-mile hike. When she arrived at Skyterra she couldnt walk the hilly trails and had to get around by golf cart.

I thought it would be miserable. But I finished earlier than I expected and I wasnt hating life, she said of hiking 20 miles in the Pisgah National Forest last week. It was one of the most personally fulfilling and enriching experiences of my life. Im a hiker now.

A side bonus? She lost 43 pounds in nine weeks.

Her nutrition goal was to create and prepare a healthy, flavorful dinner for the guests and staff. She used one of her familys high calorie dishes pierogis, pork and peppers - and working with the dietitian and chef, changed out the bleached, enriched flour with almond flour dough, cheddar-style goat cheese and sauted greens instead of the cheesy, fatty mush inside regular pierogis.

Her self-care, or stress management, goal was to work through the negative thought patterns that had led Wilson to hurt and talk degradingly about herself.

She set a goal to give herself a full day of pampering in Asheville, getting a pixie haircut, dying it dark, chocolate brown, buying a new outfit and jewelry.

Dawnrae Wilson fly-fishes on the Middle Fork of the French Broad River under the guidance of recreation director Ellwood Crowell at the new Skyterra Wellness Retreat in Lake Toxaway.(Photo: Courtesy of Denman Bennett Images)

I was very kind to myself. It was the physical representation of what we had been working on, she said.

Evaluating her life and what she wanted from life, led to another life-changing decision for Wilson. She will be changing careers to something in health and wellness, and will not be going back to Charlotte. She is moving to Asheville.

The mountain town has a healthy, active community, she said, where she can surround herself with a happy life and include her new obsessions hiking, paddle boarding and fly-fishing.

The life-changes did not come cheaply. A week at Skyterra runs about $3,000.

Skyterra staff have worked with Wilsons doctors to discuss her health issues moving forward, they catalogued videos of all the classes, breathing exercises and grocery shopping tips to help her transition back to the real world.

I would have written a check for twice as much because I got my life back, Wilson said.

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Wellness, weight-loss retreat uses mountains as medicine - Asheville Citizen-Times

Playing Janet Jackson Shows Off 50-Pound Weight Loss as She Reunites With Ex Wissam Al Mana in Court

Janet Jackson was out in London rocking a slimmer post-baby figure.

The 51-year-old singer and her estranged billionaire husband, Wissam Al Mana, were both seen leaving the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday.

Photo: Backgrid

An eyewitness tells ET Janet arrived to court at 10 a.m., and left around 4 in the afternoon.

"Janet was in a great mood," the eyewitness adds. "She was happy and hugging and kissing her legal team as she left the court house ... Janet had about seven people in her entourage including her brother Randi, her assistant and her legal team."

Regarding Janets weight loss, the eyewitness says She looks great! There is definitely a noticeable weight loss. It looks like she is getting back in fighting form to start her tour.

The singer's ex left alone shortly beforehand, according to the eyewitness, who say the two didn't interact at all. They did not interact at all. Wissam was seen holding

Photo: Backgrid

EXCLUSIVE: Janet Jackson Receives Over 100 Roses and Orchids From Estranged Husband on Her 51st Birthday

Earlier this month, a source close to the Jackson family told ET that the pop superstar had dropped 50 pounds since welcoming her first child, Eissa Al Mana, on Jan. 3, noting that the new mom has been "training, dieting and eating clean," as she prepares to head back on tour this fall. The source also said that Jackson is planning on bringing Eissa with her tour.

And despite the split between Jackson and Al Mana earlier this year, it seems as if the former couple is keeping things amicable.

EXCLUSIVE: Janet Jackson Has Lost 50 Pounds of Post-Baby Weight, Source Says

"Janet and her husband are separated, but have a mutual love and admiration for each other," a source told ET in May. "There doesnt seem to be a reconciliation in the future, but never say never."

Watch the video below for more on Jackson gearing up to get back on the road after baby.

Go here to see the original:
Janet Jackson Shows Off 50-Pound Weight Loss as She Reunites ... - Entertainment Tonight

If you have ever been told that coconut oil is a healthy alternative to butter or other cooking oils, you have apparently been lied to.

The Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease advisory of the American Heart Association recently found that coconut oil not only increases LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), but also 82 percent of its composition is saturated fats. Thats 19 percent more saturated fats than butter and 32 percent more than pork lard.

So, where does this misconception about the health benefits of coconut oil come from? Well, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutritional medicine at Cornell University Medical School, has a theory.

READ Woman Returns Home From Work To Find A Stranger Cooking Fried Chicken

The reason coconut oil is so popular for weight loss is partly due to my research on medium chain triglycerides, she told TIME. Coconut oil has a higher proportion of medium-chain triglycerides than most other fats or oils, and my research showed eating medium-chain triglycerides may increase the rate of metabolism more than eating long-chain triglycerides.

However, her research was a bit misleading. The coconut oil she used was reportedly filled with 100 percent medium-chain triglycerides, or MCT. The coconut oil you find on your supermarket shelf typically only contains 13 to 15 percent MCT.

Conclusion: Coconut oil is still a great addition to your hair and skin moisturizingregimens, but you mightwant to consider kicking it out of the kitchen. Insert the collective noooooo! here.

Go here to read the rest:
How Coconut Oil Is Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Goals - Vibe

We havent seen the last of the Mama June and her family!

Following the success of the reality TV matriarchs weight loss and television show, Mama June: From Not to Hot, its being reported that WE tv the network that brought Mama Junes journey to the small screen is looking to create another weight loss-inspired series following the 37-year-olds daughters Alana Honey Boo Boo Thompson, 11, and Lauryn Pumpkin Shannon, 17, as they embark on weight loss journeys of their own.

MUST SEE: Sugar Bear Is Kicking Himself After Seeing Mama Junes Transformation!

The girls have been doing press today in New York you can catch them tonight on @InsideEdition @etnow @socrazygirl30 @mychelle_lauryn pic.twitter.com/4D8oxzOddN

The girls are up for it, because the show will be all about them, and theyll have their own big paydays, a source tells OK! Magazine.

This is a potentially interesting development, as on the show, a doctor advised Alana change her eating habits, and she insisted that she liked her curves and had no intentions of changing her ways like her mother.

Mama June expressed her concern about this and said that she didnt want her daughter to end up like her, weighing in at nearly 500 pounds.

This is a far cry from the Mama June we first met who fed her kids sketti and go-go juice and said shed never pressure her daughter to lose weight.

EXCLUSIVE: Mama June Dishes on Her Love Life!

Were so happy to see Mama June encouraging her girls to make healthy choices!

Scroll through the gallery to see pics of Mama Junes transformation!

Read more:
Mama June's Daughters to Star in Their Own Weight Loss Series ... - In Touch Weekly

Calories in, calories out. The saying is painted on the Pinterest boards of health enthusiasts, raved over by fitness models, and even preached by some nutritionists. But recent studies suggest that this method of dieting could be making people less healthy in the long run.

The premise of calorie counting is that based on your weight, height, and activity level, there is a magic number of calories that is optimal for your daily consumption. Those who wished to regulate their calories would theoretically limit their intake to that calculated number (numbers that may be more difficult to find once Obamacare ends).

There have been multiple apps, websites, and programs based solely on the practice of calorie counting for weight loss. MyFitnessPal, VeryWell Calorie Counter, and Lose It! are a few well-known examples. Despite the many articles presenting evidence that all calories are not created equal, the proliferation of calorie counting has gotten out of hand.

Even if calorie counts were accurate, evidence suggests it still isnt a good idea. In essence, calorie counting is a strict version of dieting: the bodys natural signals of hunger and fullness are thrown to the wayside in favor of a predetermined number.

Many who count calories have reported going to bed hungry, obsessing over their calorie counting app, and becoming frustrated when their weight stalled at a higher number than expected. When it comes down to it, calorie counting is often an attempt to control the body and adhere to a weight loss diet.

The science tells us that weight loss diets dont work. One study showed that 90 to 95 percent of weight loss diets result in any weight lost while dieting simply being regained in the following years. You dont have to be a health enthusiast to see this effect in real time; theres a reason your friends conversations so often revolve around attempted but failed weight loss attempts. If dieting worked, it would be easy. If dieting worked, people wouldnt need consumptive programs like Weight Watchers or going low-carb.

In an attempt to understand the widespread failure of diets, another group of experts convened to evaluate the effects of calorie restriction on the body. Their investigation revealed that one-third to two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost on their diets. So, in essence, weight loss attempts were actually counterproductive.

Like nutrition expert Jonathan Bailor, author of The Calorie Myth, told Prevention, counting calories leads to failure 95.4 percent of the time and often leaves people fatter.

The specific reasons for this failure of dieting are a little less clear, but research suggests that it has to do with the bodys fear response to starvation. According to Traci Mann, a professor of psychology who has studied nutrition for over 25 years, After you diet, so many biological changes happen in your body that it becomes practically impossible to keep the weight off.

To summarize her explanation, the three changes that occur are reactions from the body to try and escape the state of deprivation:

There has been no reliable evidence published to support that dieting improves any aspect of health or wellness. To the contrary, however, studies have revealed some adverse health effects of dieting, including irreversible effects on metabolism and mental health.

By restricting your body to a calorie number, you could be condemning yourself to future weight gain alongside negative effects on your health.

Its time to put down the calculator and leave diets in the dust theyre not doing our health or our waistlines any favors.

Originally posted here:
How Calorie Counting Is Sabotaging Your Weight Loss - The Daily Meal

The National Cancers Survivors Day Foundation celebrated over 15.5 million cancer survivors alive on June 4, and the American Cancer Society wants to ensure they remain healthy by following six steps it posted on its website.

"Achieve and maintain a healthy weight," Stacy Simon, senior editor for the American Cancer Society, said in the posting. Simon recommends cancer patients avoid overeating, unhealthy foods and weight gain while in treatment or thereafter, and if help from a physician is needed, ask about how to safely lose weight.

The second step is to be physical, move and get active. "Studies show that exercise is generally safe during cancer treatment and can improve many aspects of health, including muscle strength, balance, fatigue and depression," Simon said. In fact, data has shown that those who engage in physical activity after cancer treatment live longer and have a lower possibility for returned cancer.

Next, Simon said to eat a balanced diet of healthy foods including fruits and vegetables. Simon said studies have shown immense health benefits are related to diets filled with these healthy foods. Processed foods such as sugary items, deli meat and fried foods are discouraged.

The next two steps are similar in nature and focus on cancer surviviors' futures. Simon said to get routine cancer screenings and draw up a care plan. Follow-up screenings will keep health records up to date and check for new cancer. A care plan allows survivors to know in detail their doctors and specialists. This is an organized way to keep track of all medicare care, Simon added.

The last step in ensuring continued health is to effectively manage emotional and mental health. Simon recommended to spend time with loved ones, focus on things that make one happy, and join local support groups if needed.

These six steps should help in maintaining health for cancer survivors and allow them to live prosperous, long lives, Simon said.

Read this article:
American Cancer Society posts 6 steps to help survivors live longer lives - Patient Daily

My fitness journey started with a climb up the spiral staircase to my office. It is a short, spiral staircase, consisting of 17 steps. But to me, it might as well have been my Everest at the rate it left my lungs breathless and my legs burning.

This will not do, I told myself. And thus began yet another search for fitness.

In the past, the aim to lose weight was an annual resolution. But 20 years have gone and 10 kilos have come - and stayed.

It was time to try a different tactic and this is why I decided to sign up for The Straits Times Run, which will take place on July 16.

In the past four months, while training for the 5km run, here's what I've picked up about losing weight and getting fit.

As noted above, losing weight was an annual resolution but my targets were never specific enough.

Signing up for a run gave me a clear goal (to finish the 5km without stopping) and a deadline to work towards. In other words, there's pressure.

Participants at The Straits Times Run last year. Training for the run this year, to be held on July 16, gives one a clear goal to work towards, says the writer, as there is pressure to be ready. The closing date to sign up for the run has been extended till June 28. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

For me, this meant trying to remove as many excuses that could crop up. So I decided to pick a gym (True Fitness in Ang Mo Kio) that was only a five-minute drive from my home, as opposed to a swankier and newer outlet that was in town but would entail me spending as much as 30 minutes on the CTE in the morning in order to reach it.

If not heading to the gym, I also sleep in my running gear, so as to psyche myself up and remind myself I have a "date" with the road.

For newbies like me, this has been an invaluable tool. Not only have I learnt to train safely and efficiently, but my trainer Mohamed Faizal is also my motivator and cheerleader.

This is where the value of having a PT comes in, as opposed to training on one's own. Faizal keeps a strict eye on my form, that is, he ensures I do a movement correctly, which reduces the chance of injury.

He also ensures that I use my muscles - and not just momentum - in executing a move. When performing any exercise, doing it correctly is more important than doing it fast, or doing more reps because you are working the correct muscle.

I have learnt not to dismiss the small stuff in this aspect. One doesn't need big, huge movements to get an effective workout. For instance, when I was doing leg raises, I started by raising my legs 10cm to 12cm upwards but Faizal corrected my movement and limited it to only 5cm and, boy, is that harder than lifting my legs way higher because it targets the correct muscles (lower abs).

I run on my own and on the treadmill in the gym. That takes care of the cardio element.

But my workouts with Faizal focus on building up my core muscles, which ensure proper posture while running, and also my leg muscles.

Maintaining a proper posture has been key to helping me feel less fatigued on a run. It was a huge challenge initially, correcting years of poor posture where my shoulders in particular were hunched, and I would always lean forward. But my posture has since become slightly more upright although it is still a work in progress.

To me, running is about as interesting as counting rice grains. I admit it. Particularly if one is on a treadmill. By mixing things up in the gym, be it doing lunges or a farmer's walk and core workouts, I am challenged in different ways at each gym session with Faizal and this keeps me going.

I learnt that one does not need to use fancy machines to become fitter.

Very often, the workouts I do with Faizal require minimal equipment and sometimes nothing besides my own body weight. This is particularly true for things like calf raises and lunges. I have found the hardest exercises to be simple things like sideways lunges with a simple band. As I said before, form is king. If you execute a movement with good form, it will give your muscles a workout.

When the dietitian told me this, I remember thinking: "Why don't you just kill me now."

Sad but true. But this is a simple case of mathematics, plus and minus. Make sure you can burn off what you put in, or if you put in something that you're not going to burn off through exercise, then make up the difference somewhere else by taking something out that day. For instance, if I know I am going to have a Coke that day, then I know I have to "minus" something else from my calorie intake.

I will be the first to admit that this is easier said than done. Especially when I am stressed and head for comfort (fattening) food as a habit, cue Milo dinosaurs and mac and cheese. Nonetheless, just having that knowledge has helped me be more conscious and make more careful choices in the food I eat.

I must underline the fact that I am by no means an expert on running, although I am pleased to say that I have lost 1.3kg of fat and built 500g of muscle since embarking on this.

But if I can do it, you can too.

The closing date to sign up for the ST Run has been extended to June 28. Sign up at straitstimesrun.com

Send an e-mail to askST@sph.com.sg

Visit link:
Staircase climb was her first step to fitness - The Straits Times

Lets face it, dieting can be exhausting, overwhelming, and frustrating. There are tons of different diet plans to choose from, many of which involve calorie counting, food restrictions, and prepackaged foods that are filled with artificial ingredients. But you dont have to diet to lose weight. In fact, by following these tips youll be able tolive a healthy lifestylewithout feeling deprived.

Eating Mediterranean mealscan reduceyour risk of heart disease and cancer,and has also been linked to a decreased incidence of Parkinsons and Alzheimers, Mayo Clinic explains. Following the eating habits ofthose who live in the Mediterranean consists of eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, and nuts; replacing butter with healthy fats, such as oil; and using herbs and spices rather than salt to flavor your foods. In addition, Mayo Clinicsuggests eating fish and poultry at least twice a week, and limiting your red meat to no more than a few times a month.

Shape adds that you can also enjoy an occasional glass of red wine. By focusing on healthy, antioxidant-rich foods, youll feel full and satisfiedthroughout the day.In fact, Shape notes that byallowing yourself to occasionally sit down to a glass of wine or a steak dinner, youre ensuring you wont end up feeling deprived, which cancause you to binge eat or ditch your diet altogether.

Eating frequent, small meals has proven itself to be an effective weight-loss strategy. Livestrong.com explains that eating five small-portioned meals a day can help you maintain a healthy body weightby keeping you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day. This ensuresyou wont end up feeling extremely hungry and overeatinglater on.

After about 3 hours without food, blood sugar begins to fall. And after 4 hours, your body has already digested whatever you sent down earlier, Amy Jamieson-Petonic, a dietitian, told WebMD. Once youve crossed the five-hour mark, yourblood sugar begins to plummet, and you grab whatever you can to refuel. The best strategy? When you wake up, make sure one of the first things you do is eat breakfast. After that, Web MD recommends continuing to eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours, which should consist ofcombinations of lean proteins, grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Youd be amazed at what the occasional meat-free meal can do for you. According tothe Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, vegetarian diets are high in fiber, naturally low in saturated fat, and filled with antioxidants and phytochemicals. Those who eat meatless meals have lower rates of cancer, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and asthma, states the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. However, you dont need to swear off meat for life in order to reap these benefits.

SparkPeople explains you can become a semi-vegetarian, meaning youonly need to replacesome of your meat with plant-based foods.By filling up on more grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables, youll be eating fewer calories, less fat, and more vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Womens Health Talk suggests eliminating animal products from your diet for one meal each day or one day each week. One thing to keep in mind: Make sure you are replacing your meat with produce, legumes, and grains. You wont benefit from thisif youre just substituting it for artificial, sugar-packed foods.

Experts estimate that our brains register theyre full about 20 minutesafter our stomachs do. Readers Digest warns that if you eat too fast, you wont give your brain time to catch up toyour stomach, which leads to overeating and weight gain. Eating slowly, however, will help prevent you from eating too much. To force yourself to eat more slowly, WebMD recommends turning off the television and any other distractions, and simply concentrating on the meal in front of you. You can use this time, particularly at dinner, to catch up with your loved ones. Remember, the more you talk, the more slowly youll eat!

In addition, Readers Digest suggests scheduling more time for meals, so you dont find yourself quickly gobbling up your dinner. If possible, try to tweak your schedule so youre taking about 30 minutes to eat your meals. You should find yourself starting to get full about two-thirds of the way through. Finally, Greatist states you should take sips of water in between bites. This will force you to take breaks and help to fill you up. You can also pace yourself by chewing each bite at least10 to 20times before swallowing.

Dont deprive yourself of anything. Instead, become an intuitive eater. Science of Us explains that intuitive eaters dont believe in good or bad foods but know there are nutritional differences between the two. It follows the basic premise that cravings shouldnt be ignored and by occasionally indulging, you will prevent yourself from binge eating later on. This means that an intuitive eater may eat a piece of pie but will then instinctively crave more nutritious foodsafterward to balance out the excess fat and sugar.

It might sound easy on the surface. But it does take quite a bit of practice, Michelle Gallant, a Harvard University Health Services nutritionist, told the publication. Gallant explains that this approach doesnt mean you can overindulge on burgers and fries. Instead, it means listening to your body and figuring out what foods will make if feel best. The main idea here is if you focus on what foods your body actually needs, you wont find yourself constantly craving junk food.

Beginning a meal with a broth-based soup or a nutrient-rich salad will helpyou eat less. The Huffington Post writes startingwith a side salad has been shown to help you eat about 12% fewer calories at that meal. Additionally, research has also shown that people who startlunch with a vegetable soup end up eating 20% less than those who dont have any.

Livestrong.com explains that the high water and fiber content in soups and salads helps fill you up.But in order to reap these benefits, make sure youre making the right salad and soup choices. Try to fill your soups and salads with nutritious, low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, lean meats, fish, and legumes. Make sure your salad dressing comes on the side and choose soups that arebroth-based. Looking for a few homemade recipes to help get you stared? Eating Well recommends trying its creamy chopped cauliflower salad orspinach and warm mushroom salad.

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Yes, You Really Can Lose Weight Without Going on a Diet - The Cheat Sheet

Losing Weight Will Feel Easy If You Do These 4 Things

Whether you have five or 50 pounds to lose doesn't matter losing weight is hard! But it doesn't have to be. Make your weight-loss journey easier and more enjoyable by following these four tips. Heck, you might even lose weight faster!

Keeping a water bottle nearby at all times is an absolute must because drinking a ton of water (it doesn't necessarily have to be a gallon!) fills you up, so you eat less. Drink at least eight ounces first thing in the morning (with a little lemon or grapefruit is great!), drink at least eight ounces every time you sit down to a meal, and also reach for water in between meals when you start feeling hungry for a snack. Dehydration symptoms like headaches and low energy can trick you into thinking you're hungry when all you really need is a few huge gulps of water. If you have a hard time remembering to drink throughout the day, set reminders on your phone.

Fitness instructor John Kersbergen said, "The most efficient way to get results is to do some form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that includes strength training for a total-body workout that burns fat and builds calorie-burning muscle." He added, "The whole workout including warmup doesn't need to be more than 45 minutes to be effective." And three to four times a week is enough. Try this 45-minute HIIT workout for weight loss.

Certified dietitian Leslie Langevin, MS, RD, CD, of Whole Health Nutrition told POPSUGAR that fiber, healthy fats, and protein are the three essentials you need for every meal and at least two for every snack. Fiber fills you up, the healthy fats keep you feeling fuller longer, and protein sustains your energy. So every time you're about to eat, look at your food and make a mental checklist to ensure all three are present.

To get your fill of fiber (at least 25 grams a day) go for fresh fruit instead of juice, whole grains instead of refined and processed carbs, and lots of veggies. Avocado, nuts, seeds, and olive oil are great choices for healthy fats. And when eating your daily protein, choose beans, nuts and nut butters, lean meats, and dairy. Eating all three at every meal will fill you up faster so you eat less per meal, but your hunger will also be satiated longer, so you'll need to eat less throughout the day.

When sitting down to eat, serve your food on salad plates and in kid-size bowls. This will force you to eat normal, appropriate portion sizes, but since the food will fill up the entire plate, it'll convince your brain that you're eating a huge meal. It works! This is a great trick for people who have a hard time not overeating.

All four of these changes may take a little time to get used to, but once you start incorporating them into your life, that's when they become a habit and when the results will start happening.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Sheila Gim

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