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Locally here in Idaho and even in Britain they are looking at way to add incentive to weight loss. Idaho offers state employees a “rebate” of sorts if they participate in a very limited number of choices for weight loss programs. Interesting the choices are limited to only those companies that sponsor paying the incentive. Oh and when you do the math, the sponsors make a whole lot more on the programs then what they pay back for the weight loss. When I tried to probe deeper into why the program did reward all weight loss and not just if you sign up for a particular program my phone calls and emails were never returned. It was obvious, but I just wanted to have the debate with them.
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
Lets face it, if the Governor really wanted to add incentive to weight loss and fitness the program would reward whatever weight loss was achieved. They would sponsor more activities and incentives to cover the many aspects of becoming more fit. Truth here it is really a token effort put together to make it look like it matters and that they really care at all.
Add that to the hospitals promoting new ways to carve up your body in often untested over time ways, junk food sponsoring of things like the Olympics and you start to see a pattern. There is a huge industry around the idea that is weight loss and fitness. What is a person to do.
Let’s start with some education. Take some time and read this article in the Guardian. Then ask yourself a couple of questions. Is my health important to me? If so, then why am I not taking care of it? Next, Can I do it myself or do I need some help? Truth is everyone can but few people do. Why because they don’t have the time to do it efficiently and effectively. They don’t have time to plan their workouts, plan their diet, get back in shape, and do it all without damaging themselves. Add to that the understanding of how their body uses food and processes it, they just don’t have the time or the willingness to do all that.
What’s the answer? Find someone (give us a try for an hour on the phone) and spend the time to see if you are serious about your health and fitness. Look at the fact that it is half way through the year. Did you make that New Years Resolution that this year would be different? If so, is it? Can you do it on your own? Sure you can! But will you? You can’t and won’t be bribed, it is all about choices and lifestyle changes. Let us guide you carefully through the journey to a point where the force of habit takes over and you can and will do it on your own.
What do top athletes eat to stay in peak condition? England rugby player Jonny Wilkinson shares his daily dietary habits. Plus: he reveals how to bounce back from an injury
I am lucky: I get to play the game that I love every day. To sustain this level of activity, I need to drink and eat well. As my job requires my body to be at its best at all times, I have developed a dietary routine that I tend to stick to most days.
Breakfast
Water. Your body is at its most dehydrated in the morning. Considering that you have spent eight hours without any intake of fluids while you have been sleeping, it is a good idea to start the day with a drink of water to make sure you are hydrated from the outset.
Muesli with fruit. One of your five-a-day, and also thought to help lower blood cholesterol concentration.
Low-fat skimmed milk. I tend to steer clear of high-fat foods.
Eggs/egg-white omelettes. Egg whites are fat-free and rich in high-quality protein. I try to have high-protein foods at every meal.
Carbs. You need energy at all points during the day, so carbohydrates such as toast or porridge could be incorporated into your morning routine.
Lunch
Fruit, protein, salad. I tend to keep my lunch healthy and simple.
Healthy fats. I often eat avocado – it contains monounsaturated fat and is great for energy release throughout the day.
Carbs. Carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes make sure your energy levels are at performance level for the rest of the day.
Beetroot. Beet greens are a very good source of calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Beetroots are an excellent source of folic acid, which helps you rebuild your body after training.
During training
Water. I take on water whenever possible, especially since moving to France, to make sure my body is fully hydrated and in tip-top condition. I keep a Volvic bottle with me and take sips little and often. This technique has made the challenge of drinking 1.5 litres a day really easy.
Dinner
Few carbs. In the evening it is best to avoid a high intake of carbohydrates, as they will release energy during the night that could affect your sleep.
Oily fish and chicken. I love eating out and normally order chicken or oily fish, as they are an essential source of Omega 3, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Recovering from injury
Unfortunately, injuries are something that I have had a little bit of experience with. Immediate physical treatment is necessary to reduce the swelling and avoid further injury, such as elevating the injury above the heart and applying ice to the affected area. Your immediate mental response to injury, however, can often be more important than your physical response, because it sets you up for your long-term attitude towards recovery.
Something I have learned is that remaining positive is one of the best things that you can do to aid recovery. You can often tell how bad an injury is the second that it happens, and remaining positive is extremely important. Even when I am in pain and shock I try to block out any negative thoughts. Combating the initial stress can be really hard, but staying open-minded and focusing on recovery, rather than worrying, is the best way to avoid “locking in” any negative feelings that can linger throughout your recovery period.
Modern medicine can work wonders if you are in the right frame of mind and do everything possible to help out the doctors. When I sustained an ankle injury before the 2007 World Cup, many people wrote me off for the entire tournament. Thanks to the great work by the medical staff and physiotherapy team, and by doing everything I possibly could to aid my own recovery, I ended up missing just two games of the championships. I was back playing weeks before most people thought I would be.
I put this down to the positive approach that I took to my recovery, which helped me heal at the fastest possible rate.
Ultramarathons are increasingly popular. But do they also pose a health risk?
This Sunday in New York, a small knot of runners will start running around the block. They will resemble any other running club although they might look a little slow. They will run one lap of the 0.5488-mile block. Then they will do it another 5,649 times.
- Image via Wikipedia
The 3100 Transcendental Race is the longest certified foot race in the world. Every day for the next six to eight weeks, the entrants will race from 6am until midnight – averaging 75 miles a day. For no payment or prize.
While few subject themselves to the lunacy of the 3,100 mile race, ultramarathons (anything longer than a marathon) are becoming increasingly popular, with races popping up all over the world. Keith Godden, editor of ultramarathonrunning.com, says there are already more than 100 such established races every year in the UK; with, he estimates, “a couple of thousand” British ultramarathon runners. “The sport now offers a great variety of very different challenges,” he says, “whether it’s 32 miles on the roads across Dartmoor, 24 continuous hours going around in circles on a running track in London, 145 miles non-stop alongside the Grand Union Canal in less than two days, or a marathon per day for three days along the Jurassic coast.”
Just finishing one of these punishing events is an achievement – but may come at a price. Personal trainer Rob Blakeman, who has trained boxers Ricky Hatton and Mike Tyson, explains: “We’re very specific organisms, with very specific requirements and very specific limitations. More training is not necessarily better training. If you do a really tough workout, the next day you often feel as though you have the flu. It’s a systemic stress. If you don’t allow that systemic stress to subside before you go back to the gym, you break the cycle of improvement.”
These flu-like symptoms, says Geraint Florida-James, senior lecturer in sport and exercise sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, are explained by the “open-window theory” which suggests that a prolonged bout of running weakens the immune system, leaving the window open for infections to attack the body. “Any stress that you come across, whether physical or psychological, will cause a response in the immune system. If you saw any of the interviews before the London marathon, everybody’s carrying a bit of a niggle, or they’ve got an illness. People trying to do ultra endurance events are taking it to a further extreme level.” If you keep on pushing yourself, disaster can strike. “If they go into overtraining syndrome, it can take years to recover from. We’re not sure, long-term, with an ultramarathon runner, how much damage they may be doing.”
Worryingly, ultramarathons could affect athletes’ hearts, says Florida-James. “Research has looked at cardiac damage within ultramarathon runners, and has shown that there are some temporary changes in terms of the functionality of the heart.”
One of Britain’s most celebrated ultramarathon runners, Geoff Oliver, president of the 100km Association, seems to bear this out when he says of the days following a long race: “I feel very weak. My heart rate is normally 48-52, and it goes down to 40-42 for a few days – I certainly feel more tired. The body is not functioning properly. It also affects my liver and my kidney sometimes. There may be blood either in my urine or out of the other end. Usually within four days I’m back to normal.”
He confesses that this has caused him to question whether he’s pushing himself too hard, but says “I’ve spoken to other runners and it’s quite common. It never lasts long.” And it’s clear that Oliver is in remarkably good shape – he recently ran the London marathon in “a disappointing 3:45.” He’s 76.
Florida-James is quick to point out that, with the proper preparation, ultramarathon running need not be unhealthy. Many people can run 100 miles without damaging themselves. That means adequate training, but also sufficient recovery time. “Everybody is different, and it will affect some people more than others.”
So why do some thrive under these harshest of regimes, while others simply crumble under the physiological stress? This, it seems, is the area that fascinates scientists and athletes alike. “I do it out of sheer interest. What can the human body cope with?” says Oliver. “I’ve always had this nice little mantra, an Alexander Pope couplet: “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.”
Five tips for ultramarathon runners
1. Go for long runs, on consecutive days, bookended by two days of total rest.
2. Splice running with periods of walking. That’s how you’re likely to complete the event.
3. If you’re finding the going tougher, the instinct is to push harder, when you should ease off.
4. Eat and drink on your runs. You should take on 400-500 calories per hour.
5. Taper off training three weeks before the race. In the last week, do almost none.
Many of you interested in health and fitness probably follow TV shows like “The Biggest Loser” and the new one with Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution”. What you don’t probably see is what is going on in the background. Obesity and the costs of it are becoming more and more talked about. Our policy makers, you know the guys and gals that just got you “free” medical insurance, are looking at the costs of a society that continues to struggle with weight issues.
- Image by SavaTheAggie via Flickr
I came across this article Jamie Oliver Trims the Fiscal Fat that you might find a good read. It shows a growing trend (pun intended) that when it comes time to trim some budgets obesity will be one of the areas that is looked at very closely. The article in fact mentions that obesity related illness in this country costs us over 90 Billion a year. Now if you have been following the deficit numbers you will know that curbing that spending could easily become a priority.
Having felt the stigma of obesity I can tell you now is the time to rethink your comfort level with being overweight. You can look in the mirror all you want and be happy with yourself. I in fact hope that you are. The question is with all this information coming out about costs of obesity, will an employer looking at you, just be looking at your qualifications or will they take into consideration your health and costs to the company.
Another number included in the article was a estimate at what obesity costs an individual (that would be your costs) for obesity over a lifetime. It was $29,000 in added health care costs. So I ask you do you think it is time to take notice? Is it time to take this issue and do something about it? I have seen obesity when it was mostly a non-issue cost people their jobs as well as their health. I don’t think our planners that feel like they are responsible to “take care” of us will let this one slide much longer.
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife
It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of being a coach or a client of a coach it is helpful to understand the reason for the need of a coach. I hear it all the time. I can do weight loss and achieve health on my own. I have one honest answer to that. If you can then why aren’t you? When you look in the mirror are you happy with what you see? Why aren’t you at your optimal health then?
You see in today’s faced paced world many of us don’t have time to focus on all the education we need to optimize our health. I know personally I have worked on this journey for 20 years before I made the decision to focus all my spare time in that direction. Sure I had to give some things up. What I have gotten back was well worth the journey. Now it is a focus and one of my biggest purposes in life. Many of my clients simply can’t devote the time. Coaches are primarily self-made, self-developed. They work on themselves continually, learning, growing, and becoming more capable and competent over the years.
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
People want results. They want the most effective use of their time and commitment to their health. A good coach can make all the difference if they are wasting their time or getting the most out of it. Why do you think when people yo-yo diet they often fail their attempts to lose weight and keep it off? It is because they don’t understand what is going on within their body when they diet.
Many give up even before they lose any amount of weight because they can’t figure out how to create a plan for themselves. They simply don’t have the time for it. But do they have time for the illness that will follow if they don’t do it? No, this is where you come in as a coach. You spend the time to sort through the noise of why they are where they are now and how to get to where they want to be. You help to create an individual plan for their success. You bring the panel of experts with you to make it all work.
After you get them going then your role shifts a bit. You still measure and adjust the plan, however your main role is to believe in them and inspire them to be accountable to their plan. Your goal is to get them to believe in themselves. It is important to work towards always raising that level of belief in themselves. This by the way is another area where many dieters have given up.
Look for the next in our Why Be a Health Coach – Part 3 Who to Coach.
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Don’t read this set of articles, if you don’t enjoy working with people. Don’t read them if you haven’t got time to spend with people. Last but not least, don’t read these articles if you don’t believe that you can make an impact on others performance. A coach has to be willing to go beyond their comfort zone and learn they can’t control others and they have to think differently.
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Many people who experience some level of success have a coach or a mentoring relationship. Health and fitness are no different. A health coach teaches people to build on their successes, work on their skills, come up with a plan, monitor important milestones, and stay on top of the feelings that go along with it.
When talking about success on any journey we have to remember that success is never an accident. It takes planning, training, commitment and monitoring. The dictionary defines a coach as someone who trains people in order for them to prepare. Wouldn’t we prepare them for success? What better success could be achieved that optimal health and fitness? My goal as a health coach is to improve your performance in all of the areas of health. Do it in a planned and tested way and offer guidance. But like all forms of coaching, the steps of the journey are still up to the person being coached.
In order to facilitate success a coach should have a range of learning experiences to draw from to help their client bring about improvement. I honestly believe that the most successful coaches are either very teachable themselves (intense observers and learners) or they have walked the same journey before themselves. Take a coach that has both and you have a power-packed combination of skills to assist and guide others.
Check Back for Part 2 – Why be a Health Coach? Health Coaches Role
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No this is not an article on how to raise pot and lose weight, it is about growing your own food and getting some exercise while doing. An added benefit has been some quality time with both my wife and son as we work together to completely redo our backyard.
For the last 4 nights (with many more to follow) we have been working on moving what would be a dump truck load of dirt around the yard. Because our back yard was part of the Boise river many, many years ago, it is full of rock of various sizes. We have to shift the rocks out as we prepare it to go into some raised beds we are doing square-foot gardening with this year. There is also the digging out of spots to put the new sifted dirt into the raised bed area.
- Image via Wikipedia
Come to find out the approximate calories per hour for a 150 pound person (not me) is 350 calories per hour. For me it is closer to 460 but we will use the 350 number to illustrate a point. One hour of digging would then equate to the following food intake to put things into perspective: The numbers on the right under the Cals column are the calories per serving.
These numbers from Calorie Count at About.com
| Quantity | Description | Cals |
| 1.3 | Grande Starbucks Caffe Latte – Made with whole milk | 272 |
| 0.5 | McDonald’s Big Mac – With cheese | 704 |
| 4.3 | Glasses of wine (3.5 fl oz) | 79 |
| 1.2 | Snickers Bar | 273 |
| 1.6 | Cans of Coca-Cola | 207 |
| 11.3 | Carrots | 30 |
Translated, it means that it would take a 150 person two hours of shoveling to burn off a Big Mac or 1.3 cups of a Grande from Starbucks. We wonder why 15 mins on a treadmill and a few other exercises don’t cut it for weight loss. It all depends on energy in versus energy out. I tease my wife that each night I have earned the right for a donut. Truth is donuts are once in a while treats these days and figured into the total for that day. Unlike in the past where it was nothing for me to eat 6 or more in one sitting and eat the rest of my meals that day.
Lesson for the day, it takes a whole lot more effort to burn off calorie dense food than it does the few minutes that it takes to eat it.
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