Better Late Than Never!

Well, I finally decided to do a blog page to go along with my fitness website. Bear with me, it may be slow going at first, but I think this will be a great way for my loyal readers to actually interact with me and make this a much more personal experience for anyone who cares.

This blog page was once called Cosmic Fitness and it is where my dream of building an actual fitness website began. Since then I built Straightforwardfitness.com and quickly forgot about poor little old Cosmic Fitness blog page. I apologize.

But, I'm back to breathe life into this place again with a new name and a new flavor and feel for this page. So, give me a few days and I'll get this blog up and running and we will have us some kinda fun! Okay? Cool.

Until then, be sure and go to Straightforwardfitness.com and sign up for my free newsletter!

I'll be back soon, I promise!

COOL NEW WEB SITE DISCOVERY!!

If you want to know the real skinny on stuff...I mean issues that will blow you away, this is the MAN! I was just led to his web site for the first time this week, and he is my new hero. www.mercola.com I LOVE THIS GUY!! Dr. Mercola tells it like it is and he practiceth that which he preacheth! Spend some time on his site and you will see exactly what I mean and you will learn a lot whilst there. I promise it will be time well spent. But be warned: You may be shocked at some of the info he dishes out. He tells it like it is. Go on! I guarantee that you will not leave his site without saying to yourself, "I DID NOT KNOW THAT!" at least once. Check out the "metabolic typing" food plan. I plan to take that test soonly. The concept makes perfect sense to me.

P.S. Have you done your workout yet today? What about eating something green today? And oh yeah, don't forget to chug that water kids! :)

Hello Fellow Fitness Friends!!

For a cardio guide and tips thingie straight from the peeps who make up the rules go to http://www.straightforwardfitness.com/acsm-cardio-guidelines.html! You know, the ones we are talking about when we say the proverbial "they" i.e., They say we need so and so every blah blah blah. So don't kill the messenger. If I made this stuff up, trust me it would be a whole lot easier, like a one-time thing, i.e., once fit always fit...none of this ya snooze ya lose stuff. But I guess if it was easy, we'd all look like fitness models and what fun would that be? Uh...okay I guess that would be pretty fun, but you get the gist. In a few days I will post some info from these guys about strength training. In the meantime...see ya at the gym!!

Estimating Fat Calories

Okay, here is the equation to use for figuring fat calories or, for that matter, carbs or protein too. Just decide the percentage ratio you want and go with the equation as indicated below. I feel good about 50-55% carbohydrates, 30-35% protein, and the rest fat. But it is a personal choice on how much you want. Something close to that is healthy. Just remember, carbs are your biggest source of energy; they are not all bad. The carbs that are unhealthy are the ones that come from processed foods and simple sugars. Try to eat more whole wheat grain foods, legumes, and live food such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

TO ESTIMATE FAT CALORIE INTAKE:
First, estimate your total calorie needs. It is best to calculate a range of intakes instead of a single number.

1. Multiply your weight by the appropriate factor to estimate baseline calorie needs.

Men: 11 _______lb x 11 = _______. Example: 135-lb moderately active female.

Women: 10 _______lb x 10 = _______. 135 lb x 10 = 1,350 Baseline Calories.

2. Multiply your weight by the appropriate activity factor to estimate calories needed for activity.

Men: Sedentary 3.2 / Light 6 / Moderate 7.2 / Heavy 10.5
Women: Sedentary 3.0 / Light 5 / Moderate 6 / Heavy 9

_______ lb x _______(factor) = _______. 135 lb x 6 = 810 Activity Calories.

3. Add together the calories from 1 and 2 to estimate total calorie needs per day.

_______ + _______ = _______. 1,350 + 810 = 2160 Total Calories.

4. Multiply the total calories by .10, .20, or .30 for 10%, 20%, or 30% fat calories.

_______ x .10 = _______. 2160 x .10 = 216 Fat Calories (10%)

_______ x .20 = _______. 2160 x .20 = 432 Fat Calories (20%)

_______ x .30 = _______. 2160 x .30 = 648 Fat Calories (30%)

5. Divide the calories from fat by 9 to get the number of fat grams to eat per day.

10% = _______/9 = _______. 216/9 = 24 Fat Grams for 10%.
20% = _______/9 = _______. 432/9 = 48 Fat Grams for 20%.
30% = _______/9 = _______. 648/9 = 72 Fat Grams for 30%.

You can do the same to figure carbs and proteins by using the percentage of carbs or protein you want to intake in step four and dividing by 4 instead of 9 in step five.

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY HUNGRY FOR?

Okay, before you reach for that chocolate or that danish pastry....stop and think about it for a second. Are you truly hungry? Chances are if you can't put your finger on what you really want, what that craving is really for, maybe you aren't really hungry for food after all. I know, I know... you may not want to really think about this, but you don't have to be a slave to this type of emotional eating. Could it be it's your heart that needs some nourishment? Eating to fill an empty space in your life or heart never really fixes anything. It just seems like a good idea at the time until eventually you can't buckle your pants or zip up your jeans and then on top of heartache you get depressed from the added pounds. It's a vicious cycle. Feelings of depression, disappointment, sadness, loneliness, and boredom often come disguised as hunger cravings. Next time you feel like grabbing a bowl of ice cream or a candy bar ask yourself, "What is making me feel empty right now? What am I missing or needing in my life? Will eating change this?" Try a warm bath or a massage or maybe light some candles and put on some music that you love to listen too. Consider learning a new hobby or taking a class to challenge your brain. Think about doing some volunteer work or read a book (to yourself or someone else). Go for a hike or take a walk outside. Plant flowers or a garden. You have options. Try filling your hungry heart with things that make you feel good instead of food that makes you feel bad. You might just realize that you've got a lot to be thankful for and even lose some weight in the process. Next time you get a craving, think about it and make sure you are feeding the proper hunger. No matter how good it may taste at the time, there is not enough food in the world to fill the hungry hole of an aching heart. But doing some random act of kindness for yourself or someone else is a great place to start. So tell me, what are you really hungry for?

Sweet Words of Wisdom from Nutritionist Karen

Question: Artificial or the real thing? Sweetening that is. As in, should I be using that Splenda, Nutrasweet, etc., in my coffee and tea so long as it's in moderation? Or is it better to just use sugar? I mean, is my left ear really going to fall off from 2-3 packets of artificial sweetener a day?

Answer: The golden question real sugar vs. artificial sweetener, which is better? If only this could be answered with a cut and dry answer. Sorry guys no can do, but I will give you a little food for thought (pun intended), and hopefully you can make your own healthy decision. Sugar has gotten a bad wrap from the "diet industry" here in the last 30 years. Where some of the concerns are absolutely valid, others have us running as far as possible from anything that contains sugar. Sugar is not the enemy. Excess sugar and lack of self-discipline and self-control are the problems. We can switch to nothing but artificial sweetener and still gain weight. How is that possible? Again, it falls into the moderation and self-control category. I try not to use the word "diet" when discussing the topic of weight loss with my clients. Diet to most people means short-term fix. Not the case when it comes to weight loss. Weight loss is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!! There are no short-term fixes in this case. You can lose 5 lbs before Suzy Smith's wedding by avoiding all sugar and consuming nothing but things with artificial sweeteners. You will look great that day. But when Sunday comes and Suzy's on her honeymoon and all eating goes back to "normal" here comes those 5 lbs back and most likely 5 more. Now that being said, how do we make an educated decision on what to choose? Moderation is the key to all weight loss. If you can't drink your coffee without 1 tsp of sugar in the morning, then have the coffee with the sugar. If you only like oatmeal with a TBSP of brown sugar, eat it. Simple as that. Now, if you do have your sugar coffee and brown sugar oatmeal, learn to cut out the extra added sugar you may be eating in other foods. Become a label reader. Look for the added sugars in foods. We are a society that has gravitated to "Fat Free" yummies. While it looks good on the shelf, once you read the nutrition panel, it should probably go right back on the shelf. They are fat free of course, but to make up for that fat and make it taste good it is LOADED with added sugars. Here are a few numbers for you to consider. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake from added sugars. That would mean 37 grams on a 1500 calorie-a-day plan, 40 grams on 1600 calories, 43 grams on 1700 calories, 45 grams on 1800 calories, 50 grams on 2000 calories and 64 grams on 2500 calories. Now let's take a look at some information on artificial sweeteners. Right now three common brands come to mind, Equal, Sweet n Low and Splenda. Sweet n Low has been around the longest and is 300 times sweeter than the real thing. Sweet n Low (or saccharin), which is commonly found nowadays in toothpaste and some diet soda, tends to have a bitter aftertaste. Next, there is Equal (or aspartame). Equal is 180 times sweeter than the real thing and leaves less of the bitter taste that Sweet n Low does. Finally, we have the new Splenda (or sucralose). Splenda is an amazing 600 times sweeter than sugar. That's why a little goes a long way with these products. Back in the 1970's we had a few little studies that were leading the general public to believe that saccharin was linked to the increased risk for cancer in rats. There have since been other studies that say that there is little evidence that this has caused problems for humans. There have been studies to show that some people do report headaches with the use of aspartame. So, if you are prone to headaches, you may want to avoid the little blue packets. Sucralose is pretty new, but there have been no negative reports out that I can find. According to the February issue of Women's Health, the FDA has established maximum intakes for sugar substitutes - a 150-lb person can take 8.5 packets of Sweet n Low, 87 packets of Equal, or 25 packets of Splenda daily with no adverse effects. So here you go guys, enough information to make an educated decision on your sweetener of choice. Just remember, whatever you choose, do it in moderation and all will be fine.

Karen Halter
AFTA Certified Personal Trainer
AFA Certified Sports Nutritionist

Now That's Stretching, The Truth

Recently at the gym I was talking to someone who asked me if I had seen this segment on the Today Show about fitness and stretching. They said that some (can't remember his name) trainer was on there and had said something about stretching being bad for you...something about studies showing that it wasn't beneficial and could even cause injury. Now, this caught me quite off guard, and I immediately thought that my friend must have misunderstood. When I got home that day, I went online and found that clip and watched for myself. Not only was my friend accurate with his recounting of what the trainer had said, but he was pretty much word for word right on the money. I really couldn't believe my ears. It is bad enough that stretching is one of the most ignored aspects of a fitness program as it is, but give that kind of information out and it is exactly the kind of excuse people will use to keep on ignoring it. While there may be certain times a person should not stretch (never stretch a cold muscle) and stretching may not be a cure-all for preventing injury or soreness as once thought, I believe that trainer spoke way out of context and should have really not said what he said. The last time I checked there are five, count them, five components of fitness. They include cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, and last but not least flexibility. Cardio endurance is the ability to perform sustained physical activity such as walking, swimming, running, etc. Muscular strength and endurance are linked and are improved by using weight-bearing exercise such as weight lifting, resistance bands or machines, etc. The proportions of muscle, fat, and body water make up body composition. Now here is my point...and you knew I was trying to make one, didn't you? Flexibility is related to range of motion and is improved by gently and consistently stretching muscles and the connective tissues surrounding them. So, unless the ACSM or the powers that be have gone and decided that there are really only four components of fitness instead of five, I think I will continue to stretch and I will keep it as an important part of my routine personally and also for my clients. You should always do static (long, held stretches) as opposed to ballistic movements. You should hold the stretch for around 10-15 seconds or more and never stretch past the point of comfort or past the range of motion. Just stretch! It feels good and you have to do something between sets anyway, right?