Body Fat Loss the Smart Way

Shannan Booth Purser, RD, LDN, CDE

 

A few months ago I wrote an article that discussed Off-Season Nutrition.  One of the points of that article focused on losing weight or changing body composition.  This should be done off-season or at the beginning of the season.  That way you don’t hurt performance when it counts.  What I didn’t detail in that article is how do you lose body fat?  So, here you go!

 

First, define where you are.  In order to know where you are going, you must first define where you are.  Start by assessing your body fat percentage.

 

You can do this in many ways.  The most accurate, and most expensive, body fat measurements are DXA and Underwater Weighing.  These are often available at medical centers or universities.  The BOD POD is another method more reasonably priced and is available at some universities and health clubs.  The BOD POD is usually accurate within 2-3%.  Skinfold measurement for body fat testing is frequently used in health clubs and is inexpensive.  Skinfolds are usually accurate within 3-4% if the technician is well trained.  Bioelectrical impedance (handheld device or body fat scale) is an inexpensive option. However, it can be inaccurate by up to 5-10% in some populations.  This method is widely available in health clubs or scales you can buy for home use.    

 

Set your new goal.  Once you have established your current body fat, determine your goal based on body fat loss.  Be sure to make your goal within reason; most people will lose only small amounts of body fat on a monthly basis.  This will help you establish an achievable, realistic goal.  Then measure your success with body fat loss, not weight loss. 

 

A health body fat for athletic women is 16-28% (up to age 55) or 20-33% (over 55 years of age).  For athletic men, a healthy body fat is 5-15% (up to age 55) or 7-18% (over age 55).  A body fat under 5% for men and under 12% for women is considered to be at risk for health problems.* 

 

(If you need to lose weight for a performance goal, but already have low body fat, contact a professional!)

 

Keep a food and exercise diary. With food records, be detailed with what, how much, and when you ate.  Exercise records should include how long, what type of exercise and intensity of exercise.  Then critique your records.  If you can’t be a good judge of your own habits, have a friend that is health conscious do it for you. 

 

Ask yourself:

• Am I eating within an hour of waking up?
• Am I eating every 3-4 hours throughout the day?  (There are two reasons you may not feel hungry this often.  One, you are eating too much at one time.  Two, you have taught your body this habit.  Try eating SMALL amounts every 3-4 hours and you will be hungry.)
• Do I eat more when my workouts are harder?  (You should!  Calories in, calories out.)
• Am I drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day (really more like 3-4 liters)?
• Do I drink more fluids when I workout?  (Usually an additional 16-24ounces for each hour of exercise.)
• Am I eating at least 3 cups of vegetables per day?
• Am I eating at least 1 ½ cups of fruit per day?
• Am I eating whole grains (not refined grains)?
• Am I eating lean protein sources?
• Am I eating healthy fats in small amounts?  (i.e. canola, flax & olive oils, nuts, seeds, avocado; in teaspoons & tablespoons)
• How often are you treating yourself?  (Ideally once a week.)
• Are there times I eat when I am not really hungry?
• Am I being honest with myself about what I am really eating?
• Am I being honest with myself about how much exercise I am really doing?  (To lose weight it usually requires 60-90 minutes of exercise 5-6 days a week.) 

Seek professional help.  If you find these actions aren’t enough or you want more specific guidelines, contact a professional that can help.  Registered Dietitians can assist you on what and how much to eat daily and surrounding exercise.  Exercise Professionals can assist you designing cardio and strength (resistance) programs aimed at your goal of body fat loss while still enhancing your performance.  Be sure to interview the professional first.  Make sure they have successful experience with individuals in similar situations.

 

 

Timing Meals to Optimize Metabolism & Workouts

Shannan Booth Purser, RD, LDN, CDE

I have Nutrition Skills that I recommend all my clients achieve.  The first, proper fluid intake, I covered in January.  The second skill is meal timing.  This month I want you to understand why this is an essential habit to adopt.

How often should you eat?

Metabolism is like a fire; don’t expect it to burn without a fuel source!  Metabolism’s fuel source is food. You should eat within an hour of waking up.  A Harvard University study showed that those who eat breakfast daily are 44% less likely to be overweight and 41% less likely to have insulin resistance (pre-diabetes). 

 

Then eat every 3-4 hours after that.  When you eat, you produce heat to breakdown the food.  That heat increases your metabolism and fat burning capabilities.  Eating frequently helps maintain consistent blood sugars.  A stable blood sugar will reduce appetite, improve your mental performance and keep your moods even.  Eating frequently also will protect your muscles from being used as a source of fuel (sugar) for the body.  Studies have also shown that those people who eat 5-6 small meals a day weigh less than people that eat the same number of calories but only eat 2-3 times a day.

 

It is ok to eat in the evening about 3 hours after dinner IF you are awake for at least 4 hours after dinner and you eat a SMALL snack.  It is not ok to eat after dinner if you don’t know when to say when!

 

Know the difference between head hunger & stomach hunger.  Stomach hunger means you have a physical need for food.  It might be you need a certain vitamin or mineral or you may need calories.  Head hunger is the desire to eat for non-physical reasons such as out of emotion or social eating.  Head hunger can ruin your nutrition.  Be an intentional eater!

 

Eating for Workouts:

You should eat something small before working out.  The closer you are to the time you work, the smaller amount of food.  So, if you are waking up at 7am to exercise at 7:30am, just a small snack will do (such as a piece of fruit).  However, if you woke up at 7am and were exercising at 10am, you could eat a full meal.  This habit will decrease the breakdown of muscle tissue to be used as fuel (sugar) during your workout.  Studies show that you will burn as much, if not more, fat during exercise if you have eaten before you workout. 

 

After cardio exercise an hour or longer, is it extremely important to consume a meal or snack within 30-60 minutes.  There is a “Magical 30 Minute Window” following exercise that your enzymes and hormones rise to pick up carbohydrate (sugar) to replace stored sugar that you used out of your muscle tissues and protein to repair muscle tissue.  If you miss the Magical Window, your body can take 2-5 days to replace the stored sugar normally found in muscles.  During this time, you are low on sugar stores in the body you will most likely crave carbohydrates, feel lethargic and the quality of your workouts will suffer.     

 

The bottom line, eat early, eat every 3-4 hours after that and be smart with food surrounding exercise!

 

Shannan Booth Purser is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Coach specializing in weight loss, fitness and performance nutrition.  She is the owner of Motivated Results, a company devoted to helping you eat right to live right.  She can be reached at Shannan@motivatedresults.com.

 

 

 

The Best Medicine Money Can't Buy

Physical Activity Can Prevent a Host of Ailments

Since ancient times, healers have recognized the curative power of physical activity.  Yet only recently has scientific evidence confirmed this widespread belief that movement heals. 

Today, virtually every form of medicine recognizes these basic truths:

1.  Simple exercise can have profound healing effects.

2.  Specific "healing moves" can help prevent and treat illness and optimize health.

These concepts are embraced by traditional healers and modern scientists, Eastern practitioners and Western physicians, alternative and conventional medicine advocates alike. At a time when patients and health care providers are searching for safe, effective and inexpensive therapies, physical activity is an ideal self-care strategy to help prevent, relieve and sometimes even cure disease.

In "Healing Moves: How to Cure, Relieve and Prevent Common Ailments with Exercise"—a book written with my husband, Duke University cardiologist Mitchell Krucoff—we explore the latest scientific findings about exercise's therapeutic power and present nine "healing moves" programs to help treat a wide range of common medical conditions including diabetes, depression, asthma, arthritis, high cholesterol, heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer.

Our theme is that, in many ways, movementis an ideal medicine. It's extremely effective, free (or at least inexpensive), low risk, abundantly available, socially acceptable and simple to do. When compared to traditional treatments, such as drugs and surgery, the risk/benefit profile frequently is far superior. In our remote-control culture, movement is a perfect prescription for prevention and treatment of America's epidemic of inactivity-related diseases.

Over the last few decades, study after study has shown that moving regularly enhances health, while inactivity impairs it. Physical activity can help some diabetics come off insulin and some hypertensives quit their high blood pressure medication. It can lower cholesterol, ease arthritis pain, lift depression, relieve anxiety and help asthmatics breathe easier. It can help slow the aging process and boost both the quantity and quality of life.

Movement enhances the heart's ability to pump blood, the lung's capacity to fill with oxygen, the metabolism's ability to burn fat and the immune system's defensive power. In fact, virtually every bodily system becomes stronger and more efficient with regular exercise. A growing body of research indicates that getting regular physical activity may be the single most important thing you can do to prevent disease and promote good health.

 

Moving Forward

Tips that will help you continue what you've started!

It'shelpful to think of this motivational process as dynamic and ongoing; different strategies are needed for different states of your exercise program.  Here are some practical tips to keep you moving forward:

Build on success....start with small goals that lead to larger goals.

Find a role model....find someone who started where you were.  Feel inspired by their success.

Be realistic....set attainable goals.  Being realistic will prevent you from becoming frustrated. 

Set well defined goals and reward yourself for reaching them.....this will encourage you to set new goals.

Keep a journal.....you'll be able to see how far you've progressed and evaluate what works and what doesn't.

Take bimonthly photos....these pictures let you see changes over time.  Often change is gradual and we don't see the difference from day to day. 

Create variety.....as you learn the basics add new exercises and activities into your program.  This will help you from becoming bored with your routine. 

Try not to focus on what you are giving up......focus on new options that you'll have after you become more fit. 

Don't make exercise just another item on your to do list....connect to it on a deeper level.

Educate yourself......the more you know the less likely you are to be injured or to get stuck in a rut. 

Use your time wisely.....it doesn't have to take hours to achieve your fitness goals.  Greater intensity can improve results and shorten total workout time. 

Know your limits and stay within your means....fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and elevated resting heart rate are all signs of overdoing it. 

5 Crucial Stats for Weight Loss

Shed unwanted pounds with more accurate ways to measure your progress:

On its face, weight loss seems simple: As long as you burn more calories than you eat, you should shed pounds. But almost anyone who has tried to reclaim her waist can point to weeks or months when it doesn't seem to work that way. You exercise like a fiend and pass up the breadbasket only to find your jeans are mysteriously getting tighter. If it's not the dryer's fault--and trust us, it's not--you're likely in need of a mathematical reality check. Recent research shows that several popular methods of gauging your calorie needs may be inaccurate--and that costs you results. Here's the latest thinking on the five vital statistics for helping you meet your weight-loss goals.

Resting metabolic rate

There are a number of competing equations to calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR)--the number of calories your body burns at rest in a single day. While these formulas offer a ballpark number of calories you can eat based on your age and weight, the most commonly used equations come from decades-old research. In fact, one study found the formulas to be off by as much as 15 percent, especially in obese individuals. All equations, even those based on body composition, can over- or underestimate the number of calories you should eat, says David Nieman, Dr.P.H., professor of health and exercise science at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. "Some people think they're cutting back quite a bit, but they aren't losing weight because they're still eating too much."

When scientists who study metabolism need to get it right, they rely on a "metabolic cart"--an elaborate tool that calculates RMR based on the amount of oxygen you breathe in and carbon dioxide you exhale. In the past, this kind of technology was expensive and inaccessible.  However, today you will find many health professionals who specialize in this area.  Please visit Shannan Purser, RD, LDN, CDE  with Motivated Results, at www.motivatedresults.com for more information on how you can get your RMR tested. 

Daily calorie count

Once you know your RMR, you will still need to account for physical activity to determine the total number of calories you expend each day. Here, an equation is the most practical method to gauge your calorie burn.

Multiply your RMR by the appropriate activity factor:

If you are sedentary          RMR X 1.2

(little or no activity)

If you are slightly active    RMR X 1.375

If you are moderately active  RMR X 1.55

(moderate exercise/sports

3-5 times a week)

If you are very active        RMR X 1.725

The number you get represents the minimum number of calories you need to eat daily to maintain your current weight. Researchers believe that you have to burn roughly 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat, so to lose 1 pound a week, a safe rate of weight loss, you'd need to diet or exercise your way to a 500-calorie deficit every day.

But even if you are very carefully counting calories, you're probably significantly underestimating how much you actually eat. That's the finding of Wanda Howell, Ph.D., distinguished professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, who instructed study participants to keep detailed food diaries for about two weeks. After being shown how to recognize portion sizes and account for extras like coffee creamer and salad dressing, even the most meticulous record-keepers missed about 30 percent of their true daily calories--a difference of up to 600 calories, Howell found.

The solution? Ask a friend or family member to help you get real. A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that calorie counts are much more accurate if someone else keeps track.

Maximum heart rate

Maximum heart rate is a measure of your body's ability to use oxygen, and it equals the number of times your heart would beat in a minute if you were running as fast as you possibly could. While the most precise tests are done in a lab, a more feasible approach in determining this number involves an equation recently created by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The most popular way to calculate maximum heart rate is to simply subtract your age from 220. But when scientists took a closer look at that formula, they found it tends to overestimate the maximum heart rate in younger people and to underestimate it in the over-40 group. To get a better idea of your actual maximum heart rate, the researchers now recommend the following formula: 208-0.7 X age = heart rate max. For example, a 35-year-old woman would have a maximum heart rate of 183.5. See Target Heart Rate (below) for ways to use this figure to determine your ideal exercise intensity for weight loss.

Target heart rate

One persistent myth about exercising to lose weight is that low-intensity exercise--working at less than 55 percent of your maximum heart rate--is the best way to burn fat. While your body is burning a greater percentage of calories from fat when your heart rate is lower, the overall number of calories you expend during a workout is what counts. In fact, some scientists believe exercising harder burns more calories both on the treadmill and off. A study in the journal Metabolism-Clinical and Experimental suggests post-workout burn lasts three times longer (up to 10 1/2 hours!) for those who work out at 75 percent of their maximum heart rate than for those who coast at 50 percent.

So what's your magic number? For beginners, aim for between 50-70 percent of your maximum heart rate (just multiply your maxi heart rate by 0.5 and 0.7). A heart-rate monitor with a chest strap, costing between $80-$120, is the best way to tell if you're in your target zone (visit heart ratemonitorsusa.com to compare brands and prices). But the heart-rate grips on many fitness machines are a good substitute, says Jim Zahniser, spokesman for fitness-equipment maker Precor Inc. in Woodinville, Wash. They work best if your hands are slightly damp with sweat (water helps to conduct the electrical signals from your heart), your arms are relatively still and your grip is light, he says.

More advanced exercisers should shoot for at least 70 percent of their max heart rate, but don't go above 92 percent. At this point, most of us cross our aerobic threshold, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Birmingham, England, meaning that almost all your calorie burn comes from stored carbohydrates. After about an hour at that pace (depending on how many carbs you're storing), your muscles will run out of fuel, causing you to experience what athletes call "hitting the wall." You'll feel weak and fuzzy-headed, and you can say sayonara to continuing your Spinning session--or your marathon.

Body fat percentage

Without exercise, once you hit your 25th birthday you'll begin to lose lean muscle mass and replace it with fat at the rate of up to 3 percent per year. By age 60, an inactive woman might weigh the same as she did at age 20, but have twice as much body fat. Excessive body fat, especially in areas such as the abdomen, is increasingly recognized as an important risk factor for killers like heart disease and diabetes.

That's why experts now suggest that women ditch body weight as a fitness benchmark and look to body composition as a better gauge of how healthy they are. The most practical and accurate way to measure body fat is a skin-fold caliper test. This can be up to 96 percent accurate if the average of three tests is used and it's done by an experienced tester. The test is offered at most gyms. However, results on people of color may be skewed by an additional 1-3 percent because the formulas most commonly used in health clubs are derived from research performed primarily on white subjects.

For optimum fitness, a recent study in The Physician and Sportsmedicine points to an ideal body-fat-percentage range between 16 and 25. Less than 12 percent can be dangerous to your health, while more than 32 percent puts you at higher risk for disease and a shorter life span.

 

Motivation Zone

Life Strategies and Solutions for Unstoppable Women

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