Healthy And Energized! -- More Answers

T - F Eating right means not eating bad foods.

False! Eating right means avoiding bad foods and eating good foods.

The two modifications to that answer that make it true are:

First, as they've come to rap and sing on Sesame Street, rather than calling them bad foods, it might be better to call them sometimes foods. Most foods are fine in moderation, and infrequently.

Second, it's just as important to get good foods as it is to avoid the bad foods. Are you getting nutrients from the foods you're eating? Energy boosting B vitamins? Cancer-preventing antioxidants? Fiber?

Third, although this isn't mentioned, it's important to know which is which, and many people don't. Check out this short article on diet food impostors from Prevention magazine.

T - F To avoid retaining water, only drink water when you're thirsty.

False! You're body's not going to feel free to let that retained water go until it knows water is flowing in.

Not soda, not juice, but water.

Now while it is possible to overhydrate, it is difficult. The benchmark minimum has long been 8 glasses a day, but if you're active, feel free to pass that.

But do get your water.

T - F To lose weight and get healthier, skip meals.

False! In fact, I would say if you want to gain weight and lose health, skip meals.

Here's how it would help you gain weight and lose health:

First, to balance the fact you hadn't eaten, your body would lower your metabolism. Hence, less energy. And isn't energy the reason you want to lose weight? Plus, less energy means less movement. Less movement, less calories burned. Less calories burned, less weight lost.

Second, you'd be losing energy because you didn't have food in you, which would have all the same effects.

Third, this would help convince your body you were starving. And the more your body thinks you're starving, the more inclined it is to sack away the calories from the food you finally do eat as fat, since it doesn't know when the next famine's going to hit.

Fourth, when you finally do eat, your body's going to do what it can to get you to eat all you can, so that it can have more to store up for the next famine. Meaning you're going to be inclined to eat the most at the time when your body is most prepared to convert everything you eat into fat.

Instead, eat less, but it eat it more often. The more you spread out small meals (emphasis on small--you're not going for six four-course feasts here) throughout the day, the less inclined your body will be to store fat, and the more it will be inclined to give up the fat it already has.

T - F The longer you exercise, the better.

False! As Bill Phillips points out in Body For Life, and as research shows, too much training can actually prevent results.

You do not actually get stronger or healthier while you're exercising. You get stronger and healthier while you're recovering. Your muscles get broken down while you exercise, but it's while you're recovering that more grow back. During aerobic exercise, you push your heart, and during recovery your body makes your heart stronger.

So instead of having super-long workouts, it's better to scatter a couple of short (say, twenty minute) intense workouts throughout the day. Or one twenty-minute intense session in the morning, and another lower intensity session (say, a brisk walk) for longer in the evening.

If you absolutely have to be doing something athletic for longer than an hour (say, while playing a sport), don't try to do it without eating something. This is when gatorade or something similar is useful--to replenish those sugars in your blood and your muscles that have been depleted by all the exercise. This will help prevent injury, fatigue, and other stuff that you don't need to have going on during the fourth-quarter crunch.

More to come!

Healthy and Energized Quiz--Answers!

First off, I wanted to take a moment to thank the fine folks at Beachbody. Not only are they a sponsor of this blog, but they granted us permission to use one of their "Walk Away Pounds" DVDs at this activity. Check them out--they've got lots of great programs.

On to the answers!

T - F Your body gets energy from the protein you eat.

True! Your body's a machine, and like any other machine, it needs fuel for energy.

Your body gets energy from the protein, carbohydrates, and fat that you eat. The stuff your body doesn't get energy from is called fiber. Having a little fiber in your meal means your body has to work around it to get to the good stuff. That's good--because it means the energy you get from what you eat will last longer.

How much energy does your body get from these? Well, when we talk about calories in food, we're actually talking about kilogram calories, the energy it takes to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree C.

For every gram of carbs, there are 4 of this type of calories. Ditto for protein--4 calories in a gram. Fat's got more than double that--9 calories in one gram.

Now, the other nice thing is that your body processes each of these at a different speed. Carbs, for example, are the easiest for your body to convert into energy. Proteins can take a while. So if you eat a meal balanced with carbs, fats, and proteins, you'll create a "time release" of energy, as each of them gets processed at their different rates and your body starts using them.

T - F Sugar drains your energy.

True! And False! Mark yourself right whatever you put.

Here's the deal with sugar--sugar gives you energy. It's a carb, so it gives you 4 calories of energy per gram.

However, it's a carb that your body can process super fast, since it's already so close to being in the state your body uses it to carry it through your bloodstream. So it gets into your bloodstream quick, and your blood becomes full of sugars. If you eat or drink a whole lot of sugar, then it's going to be a whole lot of sugar in your blood.

This is like all-you-can-eat night at the Sizzler for your cells, and you'll probably see a big spike in energy. Your cells are getting more energy than they probably need, and they're trying to find something to do with it.

Your body, worried that more sugar may be coming and figuring it's a good idea to get things back to normal anyway, decides to get some of that sugar out of there. It sends a message out to all the cells--"Stop using that sugar, and start turning it into fat for storage!" Of course, it speaks by way of chemicals instead of English of course, and the chemical that means "Store the Sugar!" is insulin.

At least, that's what insulin says to the cells. Insulin says something different to the brain--it says, "Hey, let's calm down up there, big guy."

So if you've had a moderate amount of sugar, the body will release a moderate amount of insulin, and you'll probably feel pretty okay.

But the more sugar you've had, the more insulin will be unleashed, and the more insulin is unleashed, the stronger your brain's going to pull back on those reins. In other words, the bigger the energy dip will be.

So sugar gives you energy, but too much can cause you lose energy.

T - F Fruit juices are a delicious, healthy energy source.

False! Four words: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Remember how I said sugar is so fast processing? Well, of the main types of sugar, Fructose is the fastest processing of them all. Fructose gets into your blood stream faster than shoppers into a department store after Thanksgiving. Which means it's one of the easiest ways to spike your insulin levels.

Of course, there is a way to do it faster--if you carbonate the sugar water, the carbonation accelerates the rate your body absorbs nutrients. Which of course would give you soda.

But I hear your thoughts, even through the computer. "I only drink diet soda!"

Okay, here's the deal with diet soda:

First, most of them have sodium--salt, which dehydrates you and only makes you need more water.

Second, they're still carbonated, which means that they're acting like an anti-fiber, speeding up the pace your body absorbs the other things you're eating (like those fatty fries).

Third, they usually contain phosphates, which coat your fat cells. Your body ends up having to burn them off before it can start burning the fat. In other words, rather than protecting your fat, you're building up a protective layer around them. (Believe it or not, there are actually products sold to drug users to help them pass drug tests. By sealing up all the bad cells with the chemicals in them days before hand, they try to increase their chances of passing the test.)

So don't bother with the diet soda. It's still working against you.

If you want the nutrients of fruit, check your labels carefully. Look for "fructose," and look to see whether or not there are any vitamins in the juice.

Ultimately, if you want the benefits of fruit, eat fruit. You get all the vitamins, all the minerals, plus all that helpful fiber.

More answers to come!

Quiz!

I'm doing a talk tonight for the teenaged girls at the church we attend about healthy living and having more energy. Here are the True/False questions from the handout I'm passing out. Answers tomorrow!

(Although, if you've read this blog at all, you know the answers.)

T - F Your body gets energy from the protein you eat.

T - F Sugar drains your energy.

T - F Fruit juices are a delicious, healthy energy source.

T - F Eating right means not eating bad foods.

T - F To avoid retaining water, only drink water when you're thirsty.

T - F To lose weight and get healthier, skip meals.

T - F The longer you exercise, the better.

T - F If you're active and exercise, it matters less what you eat.

T - F Having more muscle gives you more energy.

T - F When making healthy eating choices, seeing the word "salad" is always a plus.

T - F If you have more energy, it means you don't need as much sleep.

(Why is it that even though we know some of the more obvious false ones are false, we still act as if they were true?)

Review: 10 Best Fitness, The Biggest Loser DVD, and The Abs Diet DVD

If you've been in the fitness DVD section of your local mega-mart, you've no doubt seen both of those DVDs that I've got up there, and wondered what's inside.

Let's do the second one first. Looks tempting, doesn't it? TEN big fitness DVDs in one box. And for the same price as any other one DVD. Boy--that's got to be a winner, right? Even if there's just two winners in there, it's like getting two DVDs for the price of one.

Here's my verdict: Don't do it. Don't even bother being tempted.

Here's what you're getting: 10 videos from the 1980s.

First off, by videos, I do mean videos. While this is a DVD, it's a DVD of transfers from videos. Videos from the 1980s. With all the subsequent loss of quality, picture problems, and even tape hiss that accompanies an old VHS tape. This is sort of the fitness DVD equivalent of those dollar movies and cartoons you can buy of old movies that have entered the public domain.

As for the content--if the idea of a guy with a perm in neon spandex and a smoky room going, "Let's blast this workout to a whole new dimension--with weights" sounds like your idea of a serious fitness video, and if Shirley Jones and Jerry Hall are people you want to take fitness advice from, then you're in luck! This is your series!

Otherwise, just look for deals on newer stuff. Because the other problem you've got is that many of the videos on here are designed for different audiences. For instance, "Back in Action," is designed for people who are having back problems but trying to work on building back strength. But "Lite Aerobic Workout" is designed for active elderly people. And "Yogacize" is, apparently, designed for the clinically insane. (The box says that one was a "Bestseller in Europe.")

The kickboxing workouts probably aren't that bad, and I'm sure the aerobics, if you squint to block out the brightness of the day-glo outfits (or maybe just wear sunglasses?) are probably fine, but if you're the kind of person who buys exercise videos anyway, it's not going to add much to your routine. I say don't bother.

I do, however, say to bother with the Biggest Loser DVD. My wife picked it up because the description sounded similar to the Abs Diet DVD, which I'm fond of and have been using for my weightlifting so far this year, and for a good part of last year.

The Abs Diet DVD is not an aerobics DVD. It's a weightlifting DVD, a circuit training routine designed for dumbbells. I like it a lot, and have had good results with it. It leaves you free to do some other cardio routine--maybe another DVD, or maybe running or jogging--whatever you want.

But unfortunately, the DVD I've been losing is not actually mine, and I probably should return it someday. So when my wife went to go pick us up a copy and couldn't find it, she picked up the Biggest Loser DVD instead.

The Biggest Loser DVD looks like it may be the bargain we expected the 10 pack to be. Because it contains both a beginning and advanced circuit training routine, like the Abs Diet video, as well as a beginning and advanced cardio routine. So you're getting your weightlifting and your cardio on one DVD--and alternating days between weightlifting and cardio really is the smart way to go.

Now, for safety's sake, both of these videos contain a ton of stretching. On the Abs Diet DVD, the stretching is spaced in the rest time between exercises, meaning that during your workout, you spend as much time stretching as you do lifting. On the Biggest Loser DVD, they move all the stretches to the cool-down, meaning there's 20 minutes of cool-down. I personally can't abide stretching. But that probably explains why I'm so inflexible, and probably need every minute of it.

Both of these DVDs take full advantage of the DVD format. The Abs Diet DVD, for example, allows you to choose between three levels of ab workouts and three levels of full-body circuits for those portions of the workout. The Biggest Loser DVD not only lets you chose between two levels of both cardio and circuit training, but it lets you pre-program what elements you want to do, so you don't have to reach for the remote during your workout.

And while I'm sure the fashions in both of them will be eye-crushingly hard to look at 20 years from now, for now they won't be all you can think about when you watch them.

1 down, 49 to go

You know, I preach that you shouldn't shoot for more than a pound a week in your weight loss, but that doesn't mean I don't hope for more than a pound a week.

Still, it's a start. It's the step that begins the proverbial 1,000 mile journey, and I'll take it.

In related news, I got three free months of NBC's "Biggest Loser Club" by telling Verizon they could send me e-bills. It's normally $19.95 a month.

I'll tell you what--I'm glad I didn't pay for it. While the daily eating suggestions are fairly interesting, and the shopping lists are convenient, the daily exercise suggestions are remarkably vague, and there's not a way to track planned vs. actual performance. The strength training is just a full-body circuit training routine that's the same every day, and the cardio is just an interval cardio routine that's the same every day. It's moderately useful, but probably just pulled from the pages of the book, which probably isn't that much more than 19.95 anyway, and then I wouldn't have to access the website every day just to read it online.

While you can't post, you are free to peruse the message boards as a non-member if you want to get some idea of what's going on in there.

And the articles, while helpful, are nothing you can't find elsewhere. Lots of the articles come straight from Prevention magazine, in fact.

If you're looking for a way to track your calories eaten and calories burned, check out FitDay.com's free one. If you want the information from the Biggest Loser, maybe get the book and the DVD--I don't know; I haven't seen them yet. But I can't recommend the website, really.

Sorry, guys.