Focus On The Healthy Stuff

Last summer, A lady called me about her frustrating attempts at weight loss. She said she had gone from diet to diet for over 25 years...only to end up fatter and with a slower metabolism after each "diet".

We talked for a long time, but the gist of it was this; I told her to "dump the diets" and start focusing on pursuing fitness and health. We talked about a few fruits and vegetables she really liked. We talked about all the benefits we get from fruits and vegetables and how we forget how good they really taste...because we're bombarded with fat-laden foods day after day.

She mentioned that she reeeeeally liked tomatoes... which also happens to be a favorite of mine. I mean I'm a tomato fanatic. I absolutely love them! I grow several varieties in my backyard and several types of cherry tomatoes indoors when it's too cold outside! So, we had quite a conversation about tomatoes. We talked about her focusing her eating on some fruits and vegetables she really liked and doing some creative things with tomatoes. I also told her to start walking EVERY morning...even if it was only 10 or 15 minutes some mornings, but to try toget 30 to 45 minutes in every day. I also told her todo a basic weight training program at home with dumbells.

Well, I hadn't heard from her in nine months and she called me last week. She's lost 48 pounds in nine months. She said she focused on some fruits and vegetables she likes, but went crazy with fresh tomatoes. She used over 10 healthy recipes that use lots of tomatoes...she even ate tomato hash browns (without oil) and tomato sandwiches for breakfast sometimes! :) She was so excited and said she has never felt so good in her life!

Now, I'm NOT suggesting that you only eat one or two foods, but I am suggesting that you find the delicious fruits and vegetables that you like and a few that you REALLY like... and focus on these wonderful foods that God has given us. These are the REAL, naturally low fat foods that we should be eating! We've forgotten how good so many fruits and veggies really taste...yes even without fat-laden sauces, cheeses, butter, etc. I challenge you to re-discover the delicious fruits and vegetables you really like.

Cook a huge pot of several veggies you like...they'll be available all week, without alot of preparation time when your hungry. Maybe mix them with some brown rice and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over them... there's nothing better! :)

You can do the same with fruits. Make a big fruit salad with three or four fruits you enjoy. Keep it in the frig for quick access when you're hungry.

Here are some of my favorites (and some resources)...

1. Lemons are one of my favorites...you can do so much with them. My kids love squeezing them for fresh juice that we use for a variety of things...salads, vegetables, rice, to make salad dressings, lemon aid, etc.

>> FREEBIE: Sunkist publishes a fantastic free pamphlet called "150 Ways To Use A Lemon" - you'll find some great ideas in here. Call 1-800-248-7875 Mon - Fri 8:30 - 5:00 PST. Press #2.

Grow your own lemons and other citrus indoors or out on true dwarf citrus trees. Call Four Winds Growers for their catalog of dwarf citrus trees... 1-510-656-2591

2. Tomatoes are really high on my list...nutritious and great for salads, sandwiches, vegetables, sauces, etc. I put tomatoes on practically everything! :) Call these companies for their catalogs of 100's of varieties of tomato seeds you can grow at home, some even indoors year-round...

Tomato Growers - 1-888-478-7333
Totally Tomatoes - 1-803-663-0016

3. Garlic is loaded with health benefits and can aid your weight loss efforts by giving flavor to numerous foods! Call the Garlic Information Center for their brochure... 1-800-330-5922.

Author and exercise Physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss success stories and articles, and unique weight loss programs at his site.. http://www.Landry.com
Thank You Greg Landry!

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The Dangers of Excess Body Fat

The Dangers of Excess Body Fat

By Chad Tackett

Most people's primary motivation for weight management is to improve their appearance. Equally important, however, are the many other benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise.

Weight management through reduction of excess body fat plays a vital role in maintaining good health and fighting disease. In fact, medical evidence shows that obesity poses a major threat to health and longevity. (The most common definition of obesity is more than 25 percent body fat for men and more than 32 percent for women.) An estimated one in three Americans has some excess body fat; an estimated 20 percent are obese.

Excess body fat is linked to major physical threats like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. (Three out of four Americans die of either heart disease or cancer each year; according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, approximately 80 percent of those deaths are associated with life-style factors, including inactivity.)

For example, if you're obese, it takes more energy for you to breathe because your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the excess fat throughout the body. This increased work load can cause your heart to become enlarged and can result in high blood pressure and life-threatening erratic heartbeats.

Obese people also tend to have high cholesterol levels, making them more prone to arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries by deposits of plaque. This becomes life-threatening when blood vessels become so narrow or blocked that vital organs like the brain, heart or kidneys are deprived of blood. Additionally, the narrowing of the blood vessels forces the heart to pump harder, and blood pressure rises. High blood pressure itself poses several health risks, including heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke. About 25 percent of all heart and blood vessel problems are associated with obesity.

Clinical studies have found a relationship between excess body fat and the incidence of cancer. By itself, body fat is thought to be a storage place for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) in both men and women. In women, excess body fat has been linked to a higher rate of breast and uterine cancer; in men, the threat comes from colon and prostate cancer.

There is also a delicate balance between blood sugar, body fat, and the hormone insulin. Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver and other vital organs; when the organs are "full," the excess blood sugar is converted to fat. As fat cells themselves become full, they tend to take in less blood sugar. In some obese people, the pancreas produces more and more insulin, which the body can't use, to regulate blood sugar levels, and the whole system becomes overwhelmed. This poor regulation of blood sugar and insulin results in diabetes, a disease with long-term consequences, including heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, and death. Excess body fat is also linked to gall bladder disease, gastro-intestinal disease, sexual dysfunction, osteoarthritiis, and stroke.

Reducing Body Fat Reduces Disease Risk

The good news is that reducing body fat reduces the risk of disease. At the University of Pittsburgh, researchers studied 159 people as they followed a weight management program. The subjects were under age 45 and 30-70 pounds overweight. Those subjects who were able to shed just 10-15 percent of their weight and keep it off during the 18-month study showed significant improvement in HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure. In fact, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, body fat reduction is a more powerful modulator of cardiac structure than drug therapy.

For people with a family history of heart disease, an active lifestyle can slow or stop the process for all but those with serious genetic disorders. Studies by Dean Ornish, MD, have shown that a comprehensive intervention program that includes regular physical activity, a low-fat diet and a stress reduction program can even reverse the heart disease process.

Evidence also shows that an active lifestyle and its help in reducing body fat is associated with a reduced risk for some types of cancers: prostate for men, breast and uterine cancers for women. (Frisch, et al 1985)

In addition, regular physical activity and a low-fat diet are successful in treating non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM); for some patients, it has reduced or eliminated the need for insulin substitutes. In general, regularly active adults have 42 percent lower risk of developing NIDDM.

Gaining Weight Happens to Most of Us

The average American gains at least one pound a year after age 25. Think about it. If you're like most Americans, by the time you're 50, you're likely to gain 25 pounds of fat, or more. In addition, your metabolism is also slowing down, causing your body to work less efficiently at burning the fat it has. At the same time, if you don't exercise regularly, you lose a pound of muscle each year. Consequently, people are not only increasing their body fat stores, increasing their risk of disease, but they're also losing muscle, increasing the risk of injury, decreasing activity performance, and further slowing down metabolism.

Very few Americans exercise in any significant way. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports estimates that only one in five Americans exercises for the healthy minimum of 20 minutes, three or more days a week. In fact, the average American gets less than 50 minutes of exercise per week. Even worse, two out of five Americans are completely sedentary.

The Answer: Healthy Eating and Physical Fitness

But there is hope. Moderate weight loss--of fat, not muscle--and a healthy and active lifestyle--not dieting--have been found to lower health risks and medical problems in 90 percent of overweight patients, improving their heart function, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, sleep disorders, and cholesterol levels, as well as lowering their requirements for medication, lowering the incidence and duration of hospitalization, and reducing post-operative complications eight times less likely to die from cancer than the unfit, and 53 percent less likely to die from other diseases. Fit people are also eight times less likely to die from heart disease.

So, are you willing to be patient and make gradual changes in your life that will lead to a healthier, happier you? Once you have made the decision to go forward and accept change, the hard part is over. Sure, there is plenty of work to be done, but it really doesn't matter how long this new process takes. If you allow changes to take place over several years, your body will adjust comfortably, and you will be more likely to maintain the healthy lifestyle permanently.

When you begin achieving improvements in energy and physical and psychological performance, the fun and excitement you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a safe and effective weight management program.

* Be sure to check with your health care professional before making any changes in your activity or eating habits.



Chad Tackett, the President of Global Health and Fitness (GHF), has degrees in Exercise and Heath Science and Nutrition, is a Certified Personal Trainer, and is a regular guest lecturer to both professional and lay audiences on the principles of effective exercise and good nutrition. Visit GHF (http://www.global-fitness.com) and you'll find easy to follow fitness recommendations, hundreds of exercise instructions and video demonstrations, customized programs, healthy recipes and meal plans, a free nutrition analysis, health club and personal trainer directories, and much more!