Resisting unhealthy foods

I am often asked how I am able to resist eating animal foods, as well as generally avoiding most junk food. After all, we’re surrounded by them. Some former vegans tell me they could resist no more and had to eat a beef hamburger. And after years of being vegan it tasted amazing, they claim.

My “secret” is that the idea of considering animals as food fills me with disgust. Or rather, it an extreme aversion. In fact, this inclination goes well back to my childhood, leading up to my going vegetarian in my teens. I see a piece of meat and all I can think of is the poor animal getting slaughtered so it could be on someone’s dinner plate. To try to relate to how I feel, just imagine eating human flesh.

My sweet tooth is pretty erratic, and it tends to be satisfied with fresh fruit or fruit juice(though as a child I ate a ton of candy, junk, and various desserts). I very rarely eat cakes, cookies or desserts these days, though I used to eat a lot of vegan oatmeal cookies and vegan “cheese” cake, but for some reason I don’t crave them as much as I used to. Ironically, it seems the more I exercise, the less I crave unhealthy sugary food. And it seems an awful lot of sweets and desserts taste “too sweet” for me these days, almost to the point that they taste kind of nasty.

I also tend to get sick of things I eat a lot of after a while. This happens sometimes with pasta, in particular wheat pasta. I had a pumpkin/squash seed addiction some years back, yet now I am sick of them. I may be able to eat a few if I save some of the seeds from a baked squash since I hate throwing them away, but that’s about it. I am kind of neutral on oatmeal cookies, or most vegan cakes and desserts. Perhaps if some were available to me after a very long run when my sweet tooth is usually more pronounced I would devour some, but this is never the case these days. I am allergic to chocolate so I never eat anything with chocolate in it.

Besides this I normally don’t have a very big appetite. Sometimes if I am obsessed with an important project I may even skip lunch, or eat a small one consisting of just some of the nuts or dried fruit I carry with me everywhere.

Being obsessed with health also makes it easy for me to avoid certain foods. Not wanting to gain weight, which would slow me down as a runner, and not wanting to increase my risk factors for disease also influence my eating choices.

There isn’t a whole lot of advice in this post I admit. This is just the way my body works. Everyone has to personalize their own path to healthy living, though it helps to know that cravings do pass, especially if you distract yourself. Or you can drink a lot of water to help you feel full.

Most importantly, I believe the main reason so many people who exercise regularly fail to lose weight is that they use exercise as carte blanche to eat whatever they want. This approach will fail because if you are still consuming more calories than you expend while exercising, you will gain or maintain your weight rather than lose.

Remember that cravings pass. Eating healthy foods can help displace unhealthy foods. You may even end up reprogramming your brain so that very sweet desserts taste “icky” rather than delicious, and so that fresh fruits and salads become more appealing.

In praise of amateurs

Just before dropping them.

The professionalization of sports and many other pursuits has unfortunately lead to the disparagement of non-professionals, often derisively called “amateurs”. In some sports the most successful professionals can become filthy rich, and are idolized by fans, while the amateurs in the same sport live in the shadows, and get treated like untouchables at the bottom of the rigid athletic caste system. Okay, so it’s not that bad, but you get my point.

But it wasn’t always this way. The word “amateur” comes from the Latin root “ami”, for “love”. Amateurs do what they do out of love, not because they seek wealth or acclaim, though these aren’t necessarily bad things. And all professionals were once amateurs. Amateurs used to get more respect. In fact, until the 1970s, the Olympics only allowed amateur athletes to compete(this rule was changed since it tended to favor athletes from affluent backgrounds who could spend all their time training instead of working).

Keep doing what you love. You are you, so there is no need to compare yourself to professionals(or anyone for that matter) with their unique biochemical make up and upbringing. Embrace the term “amateur”. Whether you’re an amateur runner, or cyclist, or climber, or skater, or ninja you can still be super-fit without being super-famous. Strive for excellence, but on your own terms.

Heavy ball juggling and joggling

If you want to make juggling or joggling even more challenging(assuming you’re a proficient juggler), you can add a strength training element to it by juggling heavy balls. This can help build stamina even better than if you are using lighter juggling balls or bean bags, to prepare you for joggling marathons or if you want to build strength to juggle for hours on end. It is one of the best ways to target the muscles used for juggling.

In the above photo, the 3 red balls I am joggling with are 2.25 lb(1.02 kg) ExerBalls by Dube(they come in different weights and these are the heaviest). This may not seem like much, but after several minutes of juggling these babies while standing still you will feel exhausted, unless you’re a bodybuilder. If I try to joggle with them, I can’t go for more than a few minutes with these. Very tiring, but what a rush! You really can get a nice high from joggling with these heavy balls. It’s cardio, strength-training, and coordination training all in one!

They probably help build explosiveness; think of it sort of like juggling mini medicine balls. They are made of rubber and stuffed with lead or steel balls to add weight to them. They are kind of pricey, a set of 3 going for $60. I got mine as a gift(not from the company).

You can always try making your own from tennis balls like I have, though they are much lighter. The juggling balls I am joggling with in the photo below are tennis balls stuffed with pennies. Just cut a small slit on the side with a knife to push the pennies in, put glue or epoxy over the slit, let it dry, and then cover liberally with duct tape. These weigh about 1 lb(0.45 kg) each. I made these 2.5 years ago and have had no problems with them.

They are not as challenging to juggle as the heavier Exerballs, but they can still help build endurance in your arms. Since they are 1 lb each, I can joggle with these for miles and miles, but I have to be careful no one is around since if these hit someone they can hurt(the Exerballs are even more dangerous in this regard). On days when I don’t joggle, I juggle these homemade juggling balls as an upper body cardio exercise, since juggling with regular, light-weight balls isn’t much of a cardio exercise to me. So they are helpful cross-trainers, good for maintaining aerobic fitness on days I don’t run or joggle. Either of these balls are good for quick warm-up exercises before joggling with regular balls, though I usually prefer the lighter, penny-stuffed balls for warm ups.

Joggling with either of these types of heavy balls is one of the ultimate calorie-burning exercises(especially if you are running up a hill), so it’s good to try this out if you are trying to lose weight.

Just make sure you are proficient in juggling lighter balls before trying either of these. You don’t want to drop them on your feet, trust me.

The benefits of HIIE, a new approach to cardio

If there is one thing that fitness enthusiasts, researchers, and doctors are all singing the praises of these days, it is HIIE(high intensity intermittent exercise). Even jogglers like myself have joined the chorus, even if I can barely carry a tune.

What is HIIE? It is very short bursts of intense cardio at VO2 Max that is as beneficial or probably more beneficial than moderate intensity cardio for 30 to 40 minutes, according to recent research. It may be more beneficial for losing weight and improving insulin sensitivity than moderate cardio.

Getting fit from doing 4 minutes of cardio? I know what you’re thinking, but look here – The Unbelievable 4-Minute Cardio Workout.

A closer look at the science behind this in the Journal of Obesity:

In conclusion, regular HIIE produces significant increases in aerobic and anaerobic fitness and brings about significant skeletal muscle adaptations that are oxidative and glycolytic in nature. HIIE appears to have a dramatic acute and chronic effect on insulin sensitivity. The effects of HIIE on subcutaneous and abdominal fat loss are promising but more studies using overweight individuals need to be carried out. Given that the major reason given for not exercising is time [64], it is likely that the brevity of HIIE protocols should be appealing to most individuals interested in fat reduction. The optimal intensity and length of the sprint and rest periods together with examination of the benefits of other HIIE modalities need to be established.

That’s neat! So if you can’t do 30 minutes of cardio a day at a moderate pace due to lack of time, just do 4 minutes of intense cardio. But then don’t sit for too long, or, I believe, most of the benefits will vanish. This is great information, but don’t use HIIE as a replacement just yet for your daily 30 minute cardio workout if you have time to do it. Do HIIE in addition to, not as a replacement for moderate cardio, which is still important.

You can do HIIE while running, cycling, jumping rope, joggling, and some forms of dance cardio.

When I joggle, I sometimes go all out for 30 seconds to a minute in intervals. It is so exhilarating, sprinting while juggling very fast. Rhythm is very important here so that I don’t drop the balls. It is also quite shocking to anyone who witnesses it, although a neighbor of mine who is impossible to impress told me the other day she wants to see me do it with bowling balls. I told her I’m working on it.

So add intensity to your cardio workouts, especially if you are short on time.

Change your perspective, change your world

What is holding you back from living the life you want to live? What is stopping you from becoming a fitter person?

Sometimes, changing your perspective can make a difference. For instance, what is wrong with this world map?

Source: Wikipedia

It’s wrong because it is upside down, right?

But that’s just a convention, with the north being on top on virtually all maps. This is why this world map looks “wrong” to you. You’re northern-hemisphere-centric. Just change your perspective(or pretend to be an Australian or New Zealander) and you will realize this is just as correct as maps with north at the top.

How many problems in life are similar to this? Our perspective being limited by what we are used to, and what we are used to being seen as “right”?

Change your perspective, break with convention, and I know it sounds cliche, but “think outside the box”.

As Albert Einstein once said: “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.” or it is sometimes phrased as: “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”

So think differently, and you may see results.

Can water assist in weight loss?

Our bodies are about 60% water. We could not live without water. Our most ancient ancestors evolved in water, which may be why almost all life is dependent on it. A few species, like the land-dwelling ancestors of whales, were even pulled back into the water by evolutionary forces to become aquatic mammals.

But could this most ubiquitous, and essential of substances help with weight loss? It sounds crazy to ask, since, if the solution to being overweight were that simple, then why are so many of us fat?

A quick look at the scientific literature lead to an interesting study on children in: Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Oct;35, by Dubnov-Raz G, Constantini NW, Yariv H, Nice S, Shapira N. – Influence of water drinking on resting energy expenditure in overweight children:

CONCLUSIONS:

This study demonstrated an increase of up to 25% in REE following the drinking of 10 ml kg(-1) of cold water in overweight children, lasting for over 40 min. Consuming the recommended daily amount of water for children could result in an energy expenditure equivalent to an additional weight loss of about 1.2 kg per year. These findings reinforce the concept of water-induced REE elevation shown in adults, suggesting that water drinking could assist overweight children in weight loss or maintenance, and may warrant emphasis in dietary guidelines against the obesity epidemic.

This is remarkable. While the amount of weight loss would be modest, it was still statistically significant.

It looks like the potential weight loss was due to water raising their REE(Resting energy expenditure). What this also suggests is that one of the keys to losing weight or keeping it off is to maximize our REE. Obviously, this can be achieved through exercise, but it may be more important to not be inactive(sitting down for several hours) for extended periods of time, since this can negate the effects of regular exercise.

It must be noted that this was just one study; follow up studies on water could fail to replicate the findings of the first one, especially when you consider how the potential for weight loss was almost statistically insignificant. Also, this study was done on children, so the findings may not apply to adults, and the study concerned the potential for weight loss, not actual weight loss.

Still, it is a sound idea for the weight conscious to drink water instead of calorie containing drinks. So if you’re struggling to lose weight, among all the other things you are doing, fill yourself up with water before meals or if you are experiencing cravings.

Can you be fat and fit?

Many people might think it is ridiculous to ask such a question since, to them, the answer is obvious. “Fat and fit? Give me a break!”, they might say. Science on the other hand says something very different.

Source: Wikipedia

Luckily, Steven Blair at the Cooper Institute, in Dallas, Texas decided to put this question to the test. Needless to say, the results of his research sent shock-waves across the world, due to their counterintuitive conclusions. Among their findings: ” 1) regular physical activity clearly attenuates many of the health risks associated with overweight or obesity; 2) physical activity appears to not only attenuate the health risks of overweight and obesity, but active obese individuals actually have lower morbidity and mortality than normal weight individuals who are sedentary“ (emphasis mine)

This is remarkable. It seems to suggest that regular exercise is more important than weight loss. So if you are overweight, and you regularly exercise, don’t get frustrated and give up if you don’t lose weight, there are many other benefits from exercise besides weight loss.

The findings from this study and similar ones also relate to the TOFI(thin outside, fat inside) phenomenon I did an earlier post on – Are you a Tofi?

This doesn’t mean if you are significantly overweight but are still healthy, you shouldn’t try to lose weight.

The lessons to be learned here are: No matter what your weight is, exercise is beneficial. If you are overweight but not losing weight, keep exercising. Also, being slim doesn’t mean you are metabolically fit, so slim people still need to exercise to be healthy.

Fidget off the fat, research says

This sounds almost too good to be true, but research suggests that people who fidget a lot tend to be slimmer than those who do not fidget. 

What this means is that every little bit of exercise helps. Even if you are sitting, tapping your feet or moving around a lot can help burn calories. If possible, stand rather than sit. Losing weight is easier if you approach fitness as a lifestyle, not as an activity. 

Other ways to make fitness a lifestyle and not just an activity:

Take the stairs instead of the elevator

Walk instead of taking the car

Can’t or don’t want to go to a gym? Use resistance bands. You can even bring them with you to work(along with your juggling balls), where you can do a quick resistance workout that is practically the same as if you are lifting weights.

I also think it is important to avoid negative people who may try to sabotage your weight-loss efforts.

Of course twiddling your thumbs or taking the stairs can’t replace the recommended 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise we need to be fit and prevent disease. And you don’t even have to do the 30 minutes all at once either. You can divide it up – 10 minutes in the morning, 20 later in the day. 10 minutes seems to be the magic number for a bout of cardio to really count as exercise, so if you divide your time for exercise, do at least 10 minutes at a time.

Above all, make sure you enjoy your exercise. Do not think of it as punishment. You were born to move!

Joggler’s Boot Camp – The best ab exercises

The 6 pack is the Holy Grail sought by countless exercisers. Very few ever achieve it. An entire cottage industry within the fitness industry is dedicated to it, spawning many scams and myths. The myth of spot reduction is one of the most pervasive of these myths. Very often, it seems trying to achieve a 6 pack is more of a vanity project than something done to improve athletic performance; once the core is strong enough(even if the 6 pack is not visible), any additional strength is superfluous or may even weigh you down if you’re a runner.

The truth of the matter is that the abs don’t need to be exercised all that much to improve core strength. In fact, the core is strengthened even when doing resistance exercises that do not target the abdominal muscles. That said, it can still be helpful to include some ab exercises in your fitness routine to build core strength, especially if you sit a lot or have poor posture. Don’t forget to exercise the hips too.

According to research sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, the best ab exercise is the bicycle maneuver. This exercise requires no special equipment and is relatively easy to do. Many other exercises on the best ab exercise list do require equipment, but they are not as beneficial as the bicycle maneuver. So if you want killer abs so people will worship you on the beach, there is no need to waste money on ab devices(some of which are scams).

The bicycle maneuver is a type of crunch or semi-crunch. Ordinarily, I do not advocate crunches or sit-ups since I believe they are bad for the back. However, this maneuver requires very little forward movement of the upper body, so it appears to be safe for the back.

As far as joggling is concerned, it definitely requires a little more core and upper body strength than regular running. It is possible that joggling may help build more core strength than regular running, especially if you joggle with heavy balls(hopefully far away from other people). Also, juggling or joggling with heavy balls may be better for losing weight than juggling with very light balls.

I am not saying joggling will give you killer 6 pack abs, only that it may be better than just running if you want to improve core strength and stability. And it’s more fun!

Are you a Tofi?

Many people who look fit may be anything but. There is a growing phenomenon of “Tofis”, people who are “Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside”. It’s like a more insidious form of obesity, since even the sufferer may be under the illusion that they are healthy when they are actually very fat on the inside. This outwardly hidden excess fat is stored in and around many vital organs which can clog the arteries and lead to heart disease, besides causing many other serious health problems associated with obesity.

This underscores the reason everyone needs to exercise, which is by far the best way to ensure our metabolism doesn’t go awry(besides eating healthy). It still amazes me how often I encounter people who believe “skinny people shouldn’t exercise”, which is usually aimed at me due to how slim I am. 

Above all, and it deserves repetition, fitness should be a lifestyle, not an activity.