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SUBJECT:
DIET AND BODY FAT
Date:
7/15/2000
Subject: Results in the abdominals
Your Question:
Hey Norma and
Stash,
I am a 15 year
old male, 5'10 and about 163. I am interested in getting my abs
firm. I swim 30 laps in a regular sized pool for 3 days a week.
I have done this
for about 3 weeks now. I also have just started doing 50 situps
every other day
and I eat about 1800 calories a day. How soon will I start to see
results in my
abdominal area? I cannot see any difference at all now and I don't
know if I am
doing something wrong or if it just takes a while. Could you tell
me some other
things I could do to help firm my abdominal areas that are simple
and easy to
do?
Thanks for the
help and keep up the great site.
Our Answer:
Hi and thanks
for the complement.
It does take
a while to see results when you first start out. And it takes
perseverance. However, if you can do 50 situps and are not seeing
results
maybe you are doing too many and maybe they are not stressing your
muscles
enough to grow. Try doing "crunches" on your back, knees
bent and start out
holding a 5lb weight on your chest. Curl your head and shoulders
up slowly,
hold 10 seconds then relax. Do 2 sets of 8 reps every other day.
Don't do more
than 15 reps per set of any strength training exercise. Increase
the weight slowly
when it becomes easy. Also there is what we call the "Bent
knee butt lift" On
you back, arms spread eagled, shoulders pinned to the floor, slowly
bring your
knees to your chest lifting your butt a few inches from the floor,
hold 10
seconds and then relax. Both of these can be made more difficult
by adding a
twist to each side when lifting the body. Do three sets of each.
One forward,
one to the right and one to the left.
Hope some of
these work for you.
Keep in touch
Stash and Norma
Date: 8/20/99
Subject: All I want is to lose some of my stomach fat.
Your Question:
Hello,
I am not the
slimmest person in the world. and every time I look at the loose
weight programs, or diets, I feel I need to go out and buy them,
but then I read
your site, while looking for some exercises to do. Well I think
I'm going to look
away from the diet programs. But still there is one thing that holds
me back from
all of this, I'm only 15 years old. Every chart that I have looked
at don't
have, times a day, how long, or how much weight I should lift in
my age group.
So please, if you can help me, all I want is to lose some of my
stomach fat. I
got what some call a "beer belly" I weigh 166 and 5 feet
tall. Thank you!
Our Answer:
Hi!
We're glad you've
read our site and if you've read some of the letters we receive
you know you are not alone. All the hype out there about dieting
and losing
"weight" is very confusing. We'll try to clear some of
it up. First of all there is
the issue of losing "weight" versus losing "fat".
Weight and fat are not, we repeat
NOT the same thing. Weight is the heaviness that you measure on
a scale. If
you tell yourself that you want to lose "weight", what
does that mean? What
kind of "weight" do you want to lose?
Our body is
made up of only four basic things: 1 Muscle and vital organs -
PROTEIN 2 Skeleton Bone - MINERALS 3 Interstitial Fluid -WATER 4
Adipose tissue ( inert energy storage) -FAT
So what do you
want to lose?
1.Muscle and
vital organs ? NO! without them you will be weak and
unhealthy!
2.Bone and minerals? NO! Without them you will be weak and unhealthy!
3.Interstitial Fluid? NO! You'll gain that back as soon as you take
a drink of
water 4 Fat and adipose tissue? YES! That's an abundance and often
an
excess of flesh.
So your focus
should be on getting rid of or burning your fat! And--You don't
have to buy anything (such as a diet) to get rid of your extra fat...except
..good
healthy food that you can buy in any grocery store! By healthy food
we don't
mean "health" food fads. Most of your food intake (more
than half "60%"of
every thing you eat all day) should originate from PLANTS (called
carbohydrates), such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These
carbohydrates have the least amount of fat and lots of vitamins
and minerals that
you need to grow up healthy. By the way "sugar" is grown
from a plant and is
picked on as the bad guy by health food faddists. It is not bad
for you in small
amounts except it can cause cavities in your teeth. The rest of
your food should
be split up between: PROTEINS 20%-That's lean meat, lean fish, eggs,
skim
milk products and beans FAT 20%- You need a "little" bit
of fat. Olive oil is
considered the healthiest fat. Most junk food and ALL fried food
is mostly fat
so you should stay away from that. But there are lots of alternatives
like
popcorn, "Baked" snacks and all kinds of fruit. Don't
try to eat "less", instead
EAT A LOT OF THE GOOD STUFF. Don't starve yourself cause it wont
work. You may lose "weight" at first in the form of muscle,
bone and water but
you'll gain it all back and more in the form of "fat"
, most people do. Now to the
exercise. Lifting weights is good for building muscle and it will
make you bigger
not smaller. It's a good exercise but can cause injuries if not
done correctly. You
will need a coach or personal trainer to test you to see what weight
you can
safely lift. And it still wont help you "spot reduce"
that belly fat. The BEST and
safest exercise to burn off the fat is a cardiovascular exercise
such as vigorous
walking, (biking, dancing, cross country skiing, low impact aerobics,
Walkaerobics are alternatives). You can walk 2 times a day. Possibly
in the
morning before school and in the evening again. Start for 15 minutes
the first
time and work up to 60 minutes at a time. Try to walk every day
but if you miss
a day don't worry. Your goal should be at least 4 days a week. You
can
substitute biking, dancing, cross country skiing, low impact aerobics
and
Walkaerobics for some of your walking sessions. Do these activities
"somewhat
hard" (Your heart rate -60% on our chart on the FITT principle
page-use the
youngest age listed 20 -30 years) so that you work up a light sweat.
you may
feel a slight burn in you muscles, that's usually ok. If you ever
feel a sharp pain
or breathless, or dizziness STOP until it goes away or speak to
your health
provider. When you start doing all this stop weighing yourself for
a while.
Instead use a tape measure around your waist to see if its getting
smaller. That
means you are losing excess fat!
Good luck and
keep in touch with your progress.
Stash and Norma
Date:4/22/99
Subject: Embarrassed!
Your Question:
I'm located
in Australia
My question
is I am overweight and very embarrassed about my body size. I
know that I need to exercise and diet to lose weight. I intend to
cut down on
fatty and sugary foods and eat more complex fibre, such as fruit,
and eat more
vegetables, and grain. unfortunately, I don't know what types of
physical activity
I need to do, how often, how hard and for how long. I prefer activities
I can do
alone as I don't like people seeing me in sporting clothes. PLEASE
HELP ME!
Anna
Our Answer:
Hi Anna,
You sound like
you have the right idea about eating...except... don't even SAY
the word "diet". We all do not want to be on a "diet"
because a diet is temporary
and what do we eat at the "end" of the diet, junk food?
That would be illogical.
We should all eat ..the "healthy" way .. all of the time
(or at least most of the
time...nobody is perfect). And now about exercise. You can exercise
and burn
fat very successfully in the privacy of your own home. If you can
afford to
invest in a treadmill or an exercise bike (approximately $200 -
$1000 US dollars
new - look in flea markets and garage sales for bargains).They are
both good
tools for getting fit. For much less money our "Exercise for
Adults" video
($24.95 US includes shipping in the US - Add $5.00 for shipping
to Australia.)
Our video is a great exercise for burning body fat and lots of people
ages 11 - 75
use it at home ...you need only a 6"x 6" space with a
smooth floor. Or if you
have no money but have some steps to climb at home try doing 10
-20 minutes
of stair stepping 3-4 times a week. Be careful of your knees. If
they start to
hurt, you are working too hard...slow down or do less. Be sure to
do some of
the static stretches that we show on the site before and after.
Take your pulse to
be sure its not higher than your 60%
The FITT Principle
of Exercise is an easy way to remember the key
components of exercise prescription for body fat loss.
F = frequency
- how often to exercise Cardiovascular endurance exercise (such
as a we described) should be done at a frequency of 3 to 6 days
a week.
Beginners should start with 3 times a week, skipping at least a
day in between.
I = intensity
- how hard to exercise the optimal heart rates during exercise should
reach an intensity of 60% or less. check the FITT principle page
to learn how to
calculate yours.
T = time - how
long to exercise - The time or duration of the aerobic portion of
the exercise session should be between 12 minutes and 60 minutes.The
less fit
you are, the shorter the duration and the more often you should
exercise. As you
become leaner and fitter, you will need to exercise for a longer
duration, more
intensely, and less often.
Hope this helps.
Stash and Norma
Date:
Sat, 23 Jan 1999
Subject: I need to firm my lower abs and chest.
Your Question:
Hello,
I was just wondering
if you could tell me some ways of firming my lower abs,
side abs, chest, and trimming my waist.(what kinds of exercises)
Thanks a lot
!
LqUiDCRasH
Our Answer:
Dear LqUiDCRasH
If you are hoping
to read about a magic exercise that will firm your abs
specifically, we hope you are not disappointed. The most effective
abs exercises
are the bent knee crunches, bent knee twisted crunches. and the
Reverse Sit-Up.
Crunches and sit-ups develop only the upper abdominals. To develop
the lower
abdominals, you must do the reverse sit-up. In this exercise the
lower portion of
the abdominal muscles (especially the rectus abdominis) performs
spinal flexion.
In this action the pelvic girdle rotates up and toward the upper
trunk. This is the
opposite of what occurs in the sit-up or crunch. Warning! Reverse
Sit-Ups are
an advanced exercise and should be done with caution and discipline.
Reverse
Sit-Up *"Lie on your back on an exercise mat. Keep your arms
alongside your
body with your palms down and raise your thighs with your knees
until your
upper legs are vertical.This is the starting position When you are
ready, inhale
slightly more than usual and then hold your breath as you raise
your pelvis up
and toward your shoulders until your hips are off the floor. Keep
your knees
bent tightly as you do this so the action is isolated to the lower
abdominals. Push
down with your hands to help raise your hips (and legs) and to ensure
adequate
rotation of the pelvic girdle. In the ending position your knees
should be close to
your chest. Keep your head and shoulders as relaxed as possible
throughout the
upward movement. Exhale as you return to the initial position, stop,
and then
repeat........(start with one set of eight repititions and work
up to no more than 3
sets of 12) once you can do that easily - you can try some of the
advanced
moves in the book : *Kinesiology of Exercise 1992- by Dr. Michael
Yessis) The
reverse sit-up is an excellent stretching and strengthening exercise.
When you
bring your knees up close to your chest when yourpelvic girdle rotates
off the
floor, you actually stretch your lower back muscles greatly. This
is not a passive
stretch but an active one because your abdominal muscles must contract
strongly to place you in this position.Thus, you strengthen your
abdominals as
you stretch your lower back." Also good old push ups are great
for strengthening
and firming the whole upper body. There are more exotic abs exercises
in Dr
Yessis's book and you could try them. Notwithstanding, be aware
that no matter
how much you tighten and strengthen your abs, they will not look
firm and flat
if they have a layer of fat covering them.**"A full half hour
of sit-ups (or
crunches), depending on how big you are and how fast you do them
might burn
120-150 calories. Jogging, cycling, walking, Walkaerobics, dancing,
hiking, or
swimming, by comparison, might burn two times that many, and hence
be two
times as good a way to lose fat from the belly, as a result. The
larger the muscle
exercised, the more calories burned. Those muscles include the legs,
buttocks,
back, abdominals and the lower legs and arms." (In order of
size- buttocks,
thighs, back, chest, abs, arms, shoulders, calves).
Hope this helps
Stash and Norma
references
*Dr. Michael Yessis's "Kinesiology of Exercise" 1992-
Masters Press Inc 1647
Waterfront Parkway East Drive Indianaopolis, Indiana 46214 2041
**R.Oechsner Fitness Fantasia #13 YMCA Volume 2, PartV. Copyright
1981
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998
Subject: Overweight!!! Please help me...
Your Question:
I'm 11 years
old and way pretty close to 200 pounds. Can you help me with
this? Can you give me a few exercises???? I need to loose weight.
It hurts not
being able to do things "skinny people" can do. I really
want to be WAY thinner.
I don't want to be picked on and I want to do this for my health.
People
overweight in the USA are dying because of lack of exercises and
not eating
right. I would like to live a long life with out being picked on.
Please help me....
Our Answer:
Dear "Overweight",
You are right!
It is dangerous to not eat right and not exercise. And you are in
a
serious situation which could lead to some serious health problems
for you now
and in the future....and we know that it's no fun either! But you
are bright and
have a wonderful attitude and that will be very important to your
success. First
of all you need to see a doctor (an MD) for a physical evaluation.
Some causes
for obesity (overweight) have to do with the way your body functions
and a
doctor can help you with that.. Ask your doctor to recommend a certified
professional specializing in nutrition who can teach you how to
eat correctly.
The "Eat Without Guilt" Book is easy to read and can help
you learn how to eat
right! (click on to "Products" on our Homepage) We don't
know very much
about your physical condition so the following advise is general
and your doctor
will tell you if you have any restrictions. ....but we think that
swimming,
walking, Walkaerobics, and stretching would be very good exercises
for some
one like you to start with. Do just a little every day. Starting
with 5 minutes a
day and adding 5 minutes a day until you get up to 20 minutes every
day. Then
you can write us again and we'll tell you what to do next. Our Video
has
Walkaerobics and stretching exercises that you can do at home in
your bedroom.
(click on to "Products" on Homepage) And remember eating
food with fat in it
makes us fat!! So don't eat high fat food! Read the label, if a
food has more
than 2 grams of fat per serving ..don't eat it! Eat lots of fruits
and vegetables.
They will make you healthy.
Please let us
know how you are doing.
Stash, Norma and the Sweet Potatoes
Questions on: Abs, Flab & Quick Fix
Spot Reducing
DATE: 7/14/98
Subject:
question about flab, Pot Bellies......well abs:
Your Questions:
I am a person
who has a slight problem with keeping her stomach looking
fit....flab is starting to show and with school and a full time
job not to mention a
boyfriend I don't have time to do these grueling crunches and sit
ups...are there
any quick little exercises that I can do to start toning down this
flab!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Tiffany
DATE:
7/11/98
Subject:
EXERCISE PROGRAM (for my abs)
I'm looking
to build an exercise program that I can do in my home to tone my
abdomen, stomach and my bust. Can you suggest some exercises that
I can do
to build this program?
Thank you for
your help.
Kristen
DATE:
7/20/98
Subject: What is the key to weight loss?
I'm located
in NYC My question is:
I have two questions:
first of all, I have recently decided to get myself into shape
and start eating right. I discovered that there seems to be a controversy
about
what type of foods exactly are "good for you." There's
one group of people that
insist you should eat more carbohydrates than proteins, another
group that insist
that eating more proteins will help you lose weight and a third
group that say
cutting out sugars (including fruits) is that key to weight loss.
Who is right and
how do I know who to listen to? Second of all, I read your thing
on why dieting
usually doesn't work. You said that people who yo-yo diet bring
down their
daily necessary calorie intake. Does this mean that for a regular
person, they
need to consume 2,000 calories to gain one pound and for someone
who always
diets, they will gain weight by consuming just 700 calories, for
example? I'm 19,
5'4" and I weigh 120 lbs. How many calories should I be consuming
a day to
lose weight?
Maggie
Our Answer:
Hi Tiffany,
Kristen and Maggie,
Many of our
inquiries are questions about REDUCING the size of specific body
parts through specific exercises and specific diets- QUICK FIXES.
....The
following short article from a YMCA publication explains it very
well.( Our
additional comments will look like this) note*If you want to INCREASE
the size
of your bust/chest, shoulders, for example --that we can do through
strength/weight training) SPOT REDUCING* OR Every person who chews
gum should have thin jaws In defining SPOT REDUCING we recognize
it
means REMOVING FAT FROM A SPECIFIC AREA BY EXERCISING
THAT AREA. Calories, stored in the form of fat, result from excess
food
intake. Some calories are needed for body maintenance and energy
production
(1000-1200/day women , 1600/day men) and the excess is stored where
heredity (your DNA) dictates. Not where activity does not take place.
Because
of this, exercising a certain area will not remove the fat from
that area. What
does remove the excess fat is calorie expenditure. At this point,
let's look at some
facts about weight, its reduction, its composition and what is an
ideal weight for
you. First, what you weigh on a scale indicates lean body mass LBM
(bones,
muscle and organs) and fat weight. A good way to look at your weight
is to
separate the two there is a simple test~(with skinfold calipers)
that can be
conducted at most YMCA's (and health clubs) that will give you an
indication of
what percent of your total weight is fat. Women, ideally, should
carry 19-23%
fat, (the average sedentary American adult woman has over 30% fat)-while
men
should be between 14-15%. (The average sedentary American adult
man has
over 25% fat) Knowing these facts, we can better understand the
terms of
overweight and overfat. According to commonly used height/weight
charts, a
woman can be "overweight" however, if this woman has a
percent fat of 18, we
can not say that she is "overfat". In her situation, she
is composed of 72% lean
body mass Which is ideal. A percent fat measurement was taken on
a Dallas
Cowboy linebacker who weighed 250 pounds. He was definitely "overweight"
according to the charts, however his percent fat was only 10% When
you begin
to exercise, you will increase your lean body mass LBM because you
will
develop your muscles. You will also decrease your fat content. Provided
your
eating habits are good. Because of this phenomena, your scale/weight
may never
change. However because fat takes up five times more room than
muscle, you will lose inches. Knowing these facts about fat, don't
fall for the
gimmicks so widely advertised, especially ones that boast to lose
inches and/or
weight without any work on your part. One common gimmick is the
weight
reduction belt that you wear overnight. All these things accomplish
is loss of
water which will be gained right back as soon as you drink something.
Roller
bars are another gimmick (still) found in many spas and health centers.
Hopefully, with the above information you will realize you can't
beat (Or
squeeze or twist) fat off of the body. What it all gets down to
is calories in vs.
calories out. If you consume more calories than you expend, you
will gain
weight (in the form of fat not muscle or bone). Roughly, 3500 calories
equals a
pound (of fat) and you can gain that pound in only one month if
you consume
too many calories (as little as 100 extra calories) a day more than
you expend. A
full half hour of sit-ups (or crunches ), depending on how big you
are and how
fast you do them might burn 120-150 calories. Jogging, cycling,
walking,
Walkaerobics, dancing, hiking, or swimming, by comparison, might
burn two
times that many, and hence be twice as good a way to lose fat from
the
belly, as a result. The larger the muscle exercised, the more calories
burned.
Those muscles include the legs, buttocks, back, abdominals and the
lower legs
and arms. (In order of size- buttocks, thighs, back, chest, abs,
arms \,
shoulders, calves ) R.Oechsner Volume 2, PartV. Copyright 1981 Fitness
Fantasia
#13 YMCA. As far as that question from Maggie in NYC "there
seems to be a
controversy about what type of foods exactly are "good for
you." There's one
group of people that insist you should eat more carbohydrates than
proteins,
another group that insist that eating more proteins will help you
lose weight and
a third group that say cutting out sugars (including fruits) is
that key to weight
loss. Who is right and how do I know who to listen to?" As
far as the Academic
world there is no controversy on what foods are good for you. We
suggest that
you take a lecture course in Human Nutrition 100 or 101 (audit it
if possible) at
NYU or any of the many colleges in your area. That will give you
the truth as
far as is provable scientifically in the year 1998. When you do
that you will learn
that "sugar" is a carbohydrate and that fruits are carbohydrates
and so is pasta,
green salad, all of the vegetables and most of vitamins and minerals
we need.
So, when you cut out your carbs what are you supposed to eat? The
only things
left are protein and fat ...and you will learn that an excess intake
of protein is
converted into fat by the body ...not muscle.. And an excess intake
of fat is
easily and totally lapped up and absorbed by your fat cells.. Always
look at the
source of your information..are they selling something? special
foods? drinks?
diet? or maybe "misery loves company".
Hope this helps,
Stash and Norma
Date:
Tue, 5 May 1998
Subject: How to calculate your optimum "fat burning" heart
rate
Your Question:
I'm located
in Ontario
Thanks for asking
my last question so clearly!!! You people are doing a great
job here!! There are questions I have about fitness and my health,
and now I
can have them answered. Any ways, in my last question you said that
to burn
fat I need to get my heart up to 60% of my heart rate and that would
burn fat.
Well. I'm not exactly sure what my heart rate would be... I'm only
18 and my
age is never on a chart!! Could u help me out with that???. AND
the type of
exercises you suggested, well could others be... a light jog rollerblading
biking
swimming? do any of those fit in there????
Thanks again
Becky.
Our Answer:
Dear Becky,
Thanks for those
kind words. The easiest way to find your heart rate is to look
at the Heart rate chart on the FITT Principle page. Check out the
next highest
group listed. In your case, ages 20 - 29. If you want to be more
exact do the
following formula. It' really easy . Just some addition, subtraction
and
multiplication -use your calculator! KARVONEN FORMULA -the heart
rate
reserve (HRR) method for determining appropriate exercise intensity
220 BPMs
(beats per minute) - age = difference (age predicted max HR) - Resting
HR =
heart rate reserve x .6 =product + Resting HR =total BPMs target
heart rate at
60% intensity Lets take you for example. You are 18 years old 220
BPMs - 18
= Your age =202 Your age predicted max HR at age 18 - 75 Average
Resting
HR at age 18 =127 x .6 = 76 + 75 Average Resting HR at age 18 =151
BPMs
=Your target heart rate at 60% intensity You'll notice if you compare
your 151
BPMs to the Heart rate chart on the FITT Principle page that you
come out
higher with the actual formula than on the chart. That is because
younger people
usually and normally have higher heart rates than older people.
About what
exercise to do...All of the ones you mentioned are cardiovascular
or aerobic
exercises (that means they help you burn body fat) for certain people
but each
one has specific goods and bads! If you can jog for 15 minutes and
keep your
heart rate DOWN to 60 % that's ok. But if you are just starting
out to get fit or
you're are not in such good shape it may be impossible to keep your
heart rate
down to 60% and it may go up to 85, 90 or 100%- too high!!!...you're
risking an
injury. Start out with 5 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of slow
jogging then
alternate with walking and jogging for 15-20 minutes until you can
do 15
minutes of jogging at 60% heart rate.. As for roller blading . You
have to be fit
to roller blade but it's not the best way to get fit. At least wear
protective gear!
On the other hand ordinary street biking will probably NOT get your
heart rate
up to 60%. You would have to go very fast and a very long distance
to get your
pulse up to 60% for 15 minutes. Stationary bikes are better to do.
You have
more control on distance, time and heart rate. Swimming in cold
water is not a
good fat burner (think of seals, walruses and whales...blubber!)
We recommend
doing the following vigorously: Hiking, Walking up and down hills,
Track walking,
Treadmill walking, Walkaerobics, Stationary biking, and Arm crank
ergometer. These
are the best, safest fat burners for someone serious about getting
fit and
healthy. They leave the other fad exercises in the dust!
Keep in touch
Stash and Norma
Karvonen, M.;Kentala,
E.; and Mustala, O.; The effects of training on heart
rate. A longitudinal, Annales Medicinal Experimentales Biologial
Fennial
35:307-315, 1957
Date: Sat, 2 May 1998
Subject: Are burning calories the same as burning fat?
Your Question:
Dear Stash and
Norma,
I'm located
in Ontario My question is: I was just wondering..... in another
question u answered, you said. that the following exercises... Stair
climbing
12-13 calories/ minute Walking fast or uphill 9-11 Walkaerobics
8-10 Walking
moderately 6-7 Walking slow, level 3-4 Stretching 3-4 well that's
how many
calories you burn doing them. is it the same for fat? or is it different.....
Becky
Our Answer:
Dear Becky
The official
definition of a calorie is= a. The unit of heat equal to the amount
of
heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by
1°C at 1
atmosphere pressure. b. A unit of energy-producing potential equal
to this
amount of heat that is contained in food and released upon oxidation
by the
body.. It is easiest to understand if we use an analogy. Our body
uses different
foods for energy just like our house uses different fuels for heat
energy. For
example, a burning fireplace log and a gas flame release different
amounts of
heat energy. The amount of heat energy released is measured in British
Thermal
Units (BTU'S). Our body works in a similar way to provide energy
for us to
live. Instead of the BTU, the calorie is used to measure the amount
of heat
released by the burning of body fuel. Instead of using gas or wood
for fuel, we
use various kinds of foods as fuel: carbohydrate (sugars and starches),
protein
(meat), and fat (oil). Just like gas and wood; carbohydrates, proteins,
and fat all
release different amounts of energy when burned. I gram carbohydrate
= 4
calories of heat energy I gram protein = 4 calories of heat energy
I gram fat = 9
calories of heat energy. Notice that one gram of fat contains more
than twice as
much calories and energy as one gram of carbohydrate or protein.
So fat gives
us lots of heat energy when we burn it but if we eat fat and we
don't burn it
(because we do not exercise properly) we will store it as fat on
our body And if
we eat more calories of any kind than we burn when we exercise then
we store
those extra calories as fat on our body. So we want to burn lots
of calories and
especially fat calories. And the best way to do that is to do an
activity that gets
your heart rate (pulsecount) up to your 60% (see heart rate chart
on FITT
principle page) for at least 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Also when
we eat fat
calories, our body is primed to store it. New research says that
ingested fatty
foods such as premium ice cream and mayonnaise provide fuel (calories)
in the
form your body most easily stores on your waist, hips, thighs, and
wherever else
your body likes to store fat. Millions of years of evolution have
led us to
conserve fat as a compact fuel; we can store enough to provide for
2 or 3
months of starvation. On the other hand, carbohydrates, like fruits,
vegetables,
bread and pasta, provide calories which are only stored in small
amounts in the
liver and in the muscles (as glycogen) and are almost never turned
into body fat.
Professor of medicine Elliot Danforth, whose studies at the University
of
Vermont contributed to the new findings, states that, "any
pig farmer knows that
you can't get pigs fat feeding them wheat (carbohydrates); you need
corn,
which contains more oil (fat). The same principle applies to people:
"fat calories,
are simply more fattening. If you're going to overeat, you're better
off overeating
carbohydrates." When you see calories listed that usually means
all calories
(carbohydrate, protein and fat) are burned. However, Walking fast
or uphill,
Walkaerobics, Walking moderately, get us up to our 60% heart rate
and burn
mostly fat calories and some carbohydrate (glycogen) calories. While
Hi
powered Stairstepping, running, hi intensity aerobics, spinning
getting our heart
rate up too high over 80% and burn mostly protein (muscle) and carbohydrate
(glycogen) calories. Stretching, slow walking and even sleeping
do burn fat
calories but at a very slow pace So keep moving!
Stash and Norma
Subject:
Swimming and tightening my abs.
Your Question:
Stash and Norma,
I am a swimmer
that swims 3 to 5 times a week. I am trying to lose my gut. I
eat fruit in the morning (6 bananas). Lunch is soup and rice. Dinner
salads and
soups. Sometimes pizza and beer. I am not doing any situps. I swim
about 1.5
to 2 miles a day. What would you suggest I do to help tighten up
the abbs??
Thanks -Hawk
Our Answer:
Dear Hawk,
The most recent
exercise polls rank swimming as the first or second most
popular form of regular exercise among adults. When done at a mild
to moderate
pace and continuously, it is an excellent form of aerobic exercise.
Aerobic
exercises burn body fat as fuel. Swimming at a fast pace tends to
be anaerobic.
Anaerobic exercises burn sugar as fuel, not body fat. Swimming is
also good for
strengthening arms, legs and torso (that includes abs) muscles.
With these facts
in mind we will venture a guess that if you have been following
this regimen of
swimming 1-2 miles a day, hopefully at a mild to moderate pace,
3-5 times a
week and you have been doing this for 7 weeks or more-you should
have good
aerobic power and strong, long, firm muscles. Yes, you probably
do have a
good set of abdominal muscles in there, somewhere, but it's hidden
under a
thick layer of insulating, bouyant fat. Research has shown that
swimmers tend to
develop (and retain) a layer of fat under their skin as a natural
protection to help
the body from losing heat since they are constantly exposed to a
cooler than
normal temperature while in the water. Also remember that fat floats
so
developing and retaining a bouyant layer of fat is another useful
way for your
body to adapt to your frequent swimming.* But don't get discouraged,
there are very
effective ways to get rid of that extra fat and not put more on.
First there is the
water temperature. Recent tests have show that swimmers who swim
in warm
water (82-84 degrees) do not experience the fat retaining effect.
Secondly and
maybe the most important is the way you eat. Are you on some kind
of a "fad"
diet? No offense but 6 bananas everyday for breakfast sounds a little
limited.
Fruit like bananas are great-carbohydrates, low in fat and high
in nutrients -but
we think varying the fruit will give you a broader spectrum of all
the vitamins
and minerals you need to be the lean machine you want to be. You
write that
"Lunch is soup and rice. Dinner salads and soups". Sounds like
you are not eating
very much volume but you could be eating too much fat. And the fat
that you
put in your body will be stored by your body (probably around your
"gut".) Lets
start with soup....Is the soup a high fat type like cheddar cheese
and broccoli or
cream of potato? Stick to low fat soups, lean vegetable, bean, boullions...read
the labels or if the soup is homemade, skim off all the fat and
don't add fat. Also
rice is a fine complex carbohydrate as long as you dont add fat,
like butter, to
flavor it. The same goes for salads. Do you use a high fat dressing
or cheese?
What is in your salad? Stick to complex carbohydrates like vegetables,
pasta,
and proteins like beans, low fat cheese, lean chicken, lean beef,
lean fish and
lean pork. Important- if you are a vegetarian be sure to eat enough
protein.
"Sometimes pizza and beer"??? Actually if you are selective
you can order some
pretty low fat pizzas--I like Pizza Hut's Veggie Lovers Thin'n Crispy
without the
high fat olives. And beer? Studies show that a moderate amount of
alcohol a day
is helpful to our cardiovascular system and beer is a no fat carbohydrate...
so
why not? In our Eat Without Guilt Program we recommend that men
need to
eat at least 1600 calories or more a day (The more you weigh and
the more lean
muscle mass you have the more calories you need to sustain your
energy and
body functions) 12-15% of your calories from protein 65% of your
calories
from carbohydrates (mostly complex) Less than 20% of your calories
from fat
You could add 8 -12 bent knee abdominal "crunches" to
your work-outs. Most
exercise trainers agree that they are safer and probably more effective
for
strengthening the abdominal muscles than old fashioned situps are.
And we will
be adding animations and instructions for "Abs Crunches"
on our webpage soon.
Nevertheless your swimming is strenthening those muscles too, but
a muscle
covered with a fat layer still won't look flat or firm.
Thanks for your
interesting question.
Stash and Norma
References:
Swimming Science Journal
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/swimming/index.html1997
Arizona Aquatic News - vol 1: Summer '97 issue
Waterworks on Wheels 1997 Noble, B.J. Physiology of Exercise and
Sport,
Times Mirror Mosby College Publishing 1986 Spence,A.P.and Mason,
E.B.,
Human Anatomy and Physiology, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing 1983
*Note:from the
Red Cross booklet "Swimming and Aquatic Safety" "The
differences in the buoyancy of individuals will vary considerably
depending of
the relationship between the amount of heavier bone and muscle tissue
and the
amount of lighter -or fatty tissue. Adipose (fatty) tissue will
float on the surface.
Bone and muscle tissue will tend to sink.Individuals, usually men,
who are
heavily muscled, who have heavier bone structure, or little body
fat, have a
larger proportion of lean body mass and smaller percentage of fatty
tissue and
will have more difficulty floating"
Subject: Losing Fat
Your Question:
Hi,
I do exercise
(for the last year or so) approx. 6 times per week alternating
between video aerobics (Step Reebok, S. Powter and just starting
The Firm
Collection) and working out on my health walker. I take Sundays
or Mondays
off. I also do muscle training with free weights - just starting
out using 5lb
weights - 6 times per week. Three days of upper body work and three
days of
lower body work. I am 5' 10" tall, 31 years old, current weight
193lbs (I don't
look terribly heavy - really!) and work full time and go to night
school. I am
trying to get rid of the excess fat around my midsection and butt.
It couldn't
come off quick enough for me. I am also victim to a snack oriented
husband
(also 31) who loves to raid the sweet bins at the local bulk barn
and can't live
without his Spicy Doritos and Lays chips. My food is mainly low
fat fare. An
average day is: Breakfast: 2 slices whole wheat bread with jam or
some low fat
cinnamon bread that I make myself with decaf tea/skim milk. Mid
morning
snack: apple or pear Lunch: Usually ends up being a frozen diet
lunch such as
Lean Cuisine supplemented with a fruit of some sort and non-fat
yogurt. Mid
afternoon snack: usually an orange Dinner: PROBLEM!! I often end
up eating
around 7 or 8 pm by the time. My husband likes high fat foods like
meat pizza
or burgers. (He knows its a bad choice for both of us but he has
always been
slim and never had a problem with weight.) I tend to stick with
turkey burgers at
the local burger place (Lick's) or I try to order a separate pizza
with veggies
only. We dine out often, pasta is my choice with plain tomato sauce
and I try to
select low fat items from the menus or I will have less than half
the serving and
supplement with a side salad or grilled veggies instead. I try desperately
to avoid
the late night snacking that my hubby does but occasionally will
succumb to a
single Dorito chip. I used to be a size 16 bordering on 18. I now
fit loosely into a
size 14 and size 12 is getting more comfortable. When I weigh myself
however,
I've only lost 15lbs over the last year?? Is there anything I can
do to rectify this
or am I being overly sensitive and simply gaining muscle and loosing
fat? (I
hope). Your opinion would be appreciated.
Thanx.
Pat in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Our Answer:
Dear Pat,
It sounds like
you are certainly putting enough time in. And you are really quite
admirably getting your eating under control. BUT, you are going
through the
slow process of losing fat and doing that slowly is more productive
in the long
run than losing "weight" fast. Losing fat slowly allows
your skin to tighten up
gradually as you lose and allows your body's homeostasis (like a
thermostat to
control and regulate your normal body weight and your fat to lean
composition)
to get used to the new leaner person that you are becoming. The
fact that your
dress size has decreased from a 16 to a 12 is proof to us that the
15 lbs you
have lost is most probably all fat. Conceivably you may have gained
30 lbs of
muscle and lost the equivalent of 45 lbs of fat over the year. Here
are some
thoughts we had which might make your workouts more effective. We
wonder
if the exercises you're doing are getting your body up to your optimal
fat burning
level (60% as shown on the Heart rate chart on the FITT principle
page). Take
your pulse before you start - to get your resting heart rate and
after the first five
minutes -to see if it is increasing gradually (your heart rate should
br over 100
beats per minute by now).After 15 minutes of exercising -your heart
rate should
be at your 60%. If it is lower you are not working out at a great
enough intensity
Moving around at too low an intensity just wears out your body parts
without
achieving much positive results. If you pulse is higher than your
predicted 60%
you may be working too hard. Working out at too high an intensity
causes your
body to burn mostly stored muscle sugars (glycogen) and blood sugars
and not
much body fat!!!. The Reebok video you are using is an intense workout-we
suggest you add our "Exercise for Adults" video to your
collection. It is low
impact, focusses on your fat burning level and you should alternate
that one in
between your others--it is equivalent in cardiovascular and aerobic
fat burning
benefits to three miles of vigorous walking. Yes, strength training
with weights is
a wonderful way to increase your muscle mass, your metabolism and
therefore
your body's fat burning ability. But correct form is more important
than the
actual weight you are lifting and there are methods that work and
some that do
little or nothing. We recommend that you do one set of 6 to 8 reps
(repetitions)
of each exercise to start. Build up to two sets of 6-12 reps. The
principle of
"Progressive Resistance" is universally accepted as an
effective basic method.
"Resistance" means the "weight " or "load"
you are lifting. "Progressive" means
that the weight (resistance or load) must get greater and greater
as you train in
order for you to get results. If you have just started lifting weights,
5 lbs for
shoulders, chest and arm exercises is ok but at your height and
weight you
should be progressing to greater weights soon. We're curious to
know what
exercises you are doing for your lower body with 5 lb weights (the
Reebok Step
and Exercise for Adults videos will give you plenty of lower body
strength just
using your own body weight) .And yes, you should be feeling a little
"lactic acid"
burn in the muscle your using after 5 or 6 repetitions of an exercise.
If you feel
nothing then the resistance is too light. When the weight feels
light, progress by
alternating between adding a little more weight (from 5 lbs to 10
lbs at a time for
example) or by doing more reps (from 8 reps to 10 reps for example).
Here's a
caution, don't use weights while you are doing an aerobic workout...carrying
weights can injure your rapidly moving joints, so keep aerobics
and weight
training specific and separate. About your eating.....Sounds good...lots
of
fruit...low fat......excellent. Be sure to eat enough protein (lean
meat, fish, fowl).
Between 15% and 30% of the calories in your food should be protein.
You need
that to help build muscle tissue. Keep your fat intake down to 30%
or less also
And dinner.....you're making some intelligent choices. We try to
eat our biggest
meal in the afternoon and save the fruits and very low fat snacks
for the evening
if that is possible.(eat a 2 handfuls of low fat 'baked LAYS"
or "baked
TOSTITOS" instead of "one single high fat Dorito chip-much
more satisfying).
Pizza Hut (do you have that in Canada?) makes a thin and crispy
veggie pizza
which has very little fat. Watch out for those veggie burgers, they
can be fattier
than a lean beef burger. Check for the grease on the bun. Try blotting
the burger
with your napkin (discreetly of course). Your husband's "luck"
now, may turn
out to haunt him later. in 10 or 15 years. He should check his blood,
his
cholesterol, IE. VLDL (very bad cholesterol), LDL(bad cholesterol)
HDL (good
cholesterol), and his ratio of good to bad cholesterol. Many people
seem to store
the fat they eat in their blood instead of on their hips. But eventually
it catches
up with them too. They get high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes
and other fat
related diseases which can be more life threatening than excess
fat around their
butt would be. Be patient...you are on the right path.
Good luck
Stash (:o} & Norma {:o)
Date:
2/22/98
Subject: 14 year old's workout
Your Question:
Hi.
I'm a 14-year-old
and I need advice. I would like to lose weight, not for the
appearance, but to be in better shape and to feel better. I need
help with what
my diet should be like and what kind of exercises, and at what level,
to do them.
Please give me some tips; I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks!
-Julie
Our Answer:
Hi Julie,
You have the
right attitude about getting in shape to feel better. That is perfectly
true. And you will receive an extra bonus when you get in shape,
you will look
better too! Please check with your parents and/or your doctor before
you start
any eating or exercise plan to be sure it is ok for you. All of
our suggestions are
for a 14 year old female with no health problems Here are some facts
that we
wish we knew about when we were 14 (wouldn't have wasted so much
time
doing the wrong things). First.... Don't worry about your weight
on the scale.
We know you want it to be less and we promise you will get leaner-once
you
start exercising and eating healthily. You are still growing so
your weight may go
up as you get taller even if you are getting leaner. Muscles weigh
more than fat
so if you exercise and get some muscles and lose some body fat you
may not
lose much weight but you will look leaner no matter what you weigh.
Instead of
weighing yourself, measure your waist (at the narrowest part) and
hips (at your
belly- button). Write it down in a small notebook along with your
height and the
date. This is your starting point and from now on you can measure
yourself
every two weeks or once a month.Your waist will measure smaller
as you lose
fat. Second...start doing something physical. Vigorous walking is
a good level to
start with. Swinging your arm naturally and taking big steps, walk
one to two
miles at a time. You should walk for at least 15 minutes and not
more than one
hour at a time. You can walk at the school track (four times around
is one mile)
or walk around your block. .(take a friend or your dog for safety)
Have
someone drive their car the distance to see how many times around
makes one
mile ..You can walk every morning or afternoons 5-6 days a week.
You can list
the date, , time and mileage of your walks in you notebook too.
Check out the
FITT Principle page on our web site and see what your heart rate
(pulse) should
be. Do a calf stretch before and after. Another great starting out
exercise that
can be done indoors is our "Exercise for Adults" video.
(check out our Products
page). You can alternate the video workout with your walks, so that
you have
some variety. The video has Walkaerobics, a low impact endurance
exercise and
has stretching exercises too. You need to stretch for good posture
and to prevent
injuries. The video will teach you how to exercise correctly. Third...
This was
the hardest part for me (Norma). Eating! I, love to eat...a lot.
But at 14, I used
to starve myself to lose weight. I would get headaches and catch
colds and get
sick. Don't go on some quick fix diet. Diets made me lose weight
at first..but
after a short time I would gain the weight back and add even more
weight. We
have to eat to be in good shape. But we have to eat healthy food
not junk food.
That means no fried food...fried food is full of fat and eating
fat makes us fat.
(besides fried food can make your skin break out) You can eat as
much complex
carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables as you want. Eat whole
grain breads
and pasta. There are lots of good fat free sauces in the supermarket
Go lightly
on the fats- butter, margarine ,mayo and ice cream. You can use
the fat free or
low fat substitutes instead. You need protein- broiled, boiled,
baked or roasted
meat, chicken, fish, beef, pork, eggs, beans, skim or 1% milk and
low fat
cheese. Look at the size of palm of your hand. That is the amount
of protein
you should be eating every day. A word about Fat Free cookies, chips
and
snacks. Just because they are fat free they are still a kind of
not so bad "junk
food" You can eat two or three Fat Free cookies with your skim
milk and a
handful of Fat Free chips with your lunch, but don't pig out on
them. Fat Free
snacks have other junky ingredients that are not too healthy for
you. Pig out on
-fruits and vegetables instead. Suggested daily eating plan for
a healthy 14 year
old female: Breakfast cereal -(raisin bran or similar) 1% or skim
milk fruit Lunch
sandwich-2 slices of whole grain bread protein (turkey, tuna, lean
ham etc.) low
fat spread (mustard, no fat mayo etc.) vegetable (carrot sticks,
lettuce, tomato,
salad, etc) fruit drink or 1% or skim milk Snack one serving of
Fat Free cookies,
chips or pretzels fruit 1% or skim milk Dinner broiled, boiled,
baked or roasted
chicken, turkey fish, beef, pork, eggs or beans one serving of pasta
or potato
vegetable or salad (fat free dressing) Dessert or snack one serving
of non fat
frozen yogurt fruit Fourth .....You need rest! You should be sleeping
at least 9
hours a night (some doctors say even more). Don't exercise every
day take at
least one day off every week. Hope this gets you started, Julie.
Keep in touch.
We'd like to know how you're doing.
Stash and Norma
*C.B Corbin
and Lindsay, Concepts of Physical Fitness with Laboratories,6th
ed. 1994 WM. C. Brown Communications, Inc. * N.G.Furman & S.Furman,Eat
Without Guilt 1991 (tel. 602-984-8310 to order)
Date: 2/20/98
Subject: Firming the abs
Your Question:
My question
is about my abs. I am a 30 year old female and I weigh 113lbs and
I am 5' tall. I am trying to lose fat and firm my abs. I do aerobics
3 to 4 times a
week and strength train 3 times a week. Do you have any suggestions?
I have
been doing this for about 3 months, with no significant losses.
Vicki
Our Answer:
Dear Vicki,
According to
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co Height and Weight Tables :
Women-5"0" Small frame Medium frame Large Frame 104-115lbs
113-126lbs
122-137lbs So it seems that your weight is well into the acceptable
range. But,
you probably have too high of a percentage of body fat and that
is what is
bothering you about your abs. To find out how much fat you have.
Get a body
composition test. The "skinfolds" test, bioelectrical
impedence test or
underwater weighing tests are all considered fairly accurate in
testing your body
fat%. Ideally your body fat should be between 18% and 25%. Below
13%
would be too low and could cause health problems and above 30% is
considered
"obese" by a lot of the charts. "Obese" is a
clinical term which we don't like
because It has the connotation of "extreme fatness" We
find that the large
majority of women we test are in the above 30% range and most would
not be
considered "fat" by our excepted standards of beauty.
If you turn out to be in
the ideal 18-25% range, congratulate yourself and keep on doing
what your
doing and don't be so impatient. Fitness takes time and its worth
it. If you have
a higher body fat% and you have not lost any since you started three
months
ago...lets try to analyze what's happening. First lets consider
the intensity. The
exercise regimen you're doing sounds good. "aerobics 3 to 4
times a week".
However it will be most effective at burning fat if you are getting
your heart rate
up to an intensity of your 60% (check the HR chart under-FITT Principle)
for a
recommended time of 12 to 20 minutes continuously. The higher your
heart rate
goes after that, the less fat you will be burning. So take your
pulse...after 5
minutes for your warm-up heart rate (it should be less than 60%
at that time)
and immediately after you stop for your exercise heart rate (it
should be between
60% and 70%) . If you are doing that, your intensity and time are
good. How
about increasing the frequency by adding another day or two of vigorous
fat
burning walking or stationary biking ( minimum of 20 min at 60%
heart rate).
The strength training you're doing is recommended, it will increase
your muscle
mass which will increase your metabolism which will increase your
fat burning
ability. However, often when we start a new strength training program
we put
on muscle while we are burning fat and since muscle is denser and
weighs more
than fat, we put on weight! Use your tape measure instead of your
scale and see
if you are losing inches around your waist? if you are, that's a
sure sign of
successful body fat loss. Next lets consider how long you've been
exercising.
Three months is time enough to see some results but you say "no
significant
losses". Your expectations may be too high. It is recommended
to only lose 1-3
lbs a week anyway Think in terms of years not months. Fitness and
the healthy
beauty you attain when you are fit should be a lifetime occupation
and you will
receive a lifetime of benefits. You do not mention food. We believe
in a
conscious low fat/ high complex carbohydrate/ moderate protein eating
regimen.
Our recommendation for a 30 year old woman trying to lose fat is
the following
Lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey, beef, pork or beans) 15% of
total calorie
intake Complex carbohydrates (lots of fruits/vegetable-some whole
grains) 65%
(eat very small amounts of simple carbohydrates/white refined sugar
and white
flour) Fat (saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated- any fat) 10-20%
Water 8
glasses a day Be sure to get calcium in the form of skim milk, low
fat cheese
and/or broccoli We hate diets. They make you fatter in the long
run. So those
percentages are general and not exact. We wrote the anti-diet book,
*"Eat
Without Guilt" to explain how to lose fat without dieting.
In a nutshell....to get
rid of body fat from the abs and all over your body you have to
intake less fat
than you burn up in day to day living and through exercise. If you
eat more fat
than you are exercising off, you will put on fat and keep fat on
your body. Its as
simple as that. If you are hoping to read about a magic exercise
that will firm
your abs specifically, we hope you are not disappointed. The most
effective abs
exercises are the bent knee crunches and bent knee twisted crunches.
There are
more exotic abs exercises in *Dr. Michael Yessis's "Kinesiology
of Exercise" and
you could try them. Notwithstanding, be aware that no matter how
much you
tighten and strengthen your abs, they will not look firm and flat
if they have a
layer of fat covering them.
Thanks for your
question and good luck!
References:
*Metropolitan Height & Weight Tables -Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company,
Health and Safety Education Division *Michael Yessis, PH.D Kinesiology
of
Exercise 1992 Masters Press, Howard W.Sams, Indianapolis, Indiana
*
N.G.Furman & S.Furman,Eat Without Guilt 1991 (tel. 602-984-8310
to order)
*C.B Corbin and Lindsay, Concepts of Physical Fitness with Laboratories,6th
ed. 1994 WM. C. Brown Communications, Inc.
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