The one thing you need to know about weight loss and diet studies

Why studying diet is almost as difficult as losing weight
Studying diet is difficult. If you stick people in a lab and carefully measure everything they eat, you'll get an accurate picture of what went into their bodies, but the results won't reflect what goes on in the real world. If you set participants loose and ask them to report back on their calorie intake with little monitoring, you'll still get an inaccurate view because people are notoriously bad at remembering what they ate and frequently underestimate their calorie consumption.
Studying diet is also really expensive. So studies tend to be short term, and again not reflective of real-world outcomes. And we know most people, sadly, regain the weight they lose after a while, so in order to understand whether a diet truly works, a study needs to run for more than a year... and it's therefore more expensive and difficult to fund.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Active Recovery Day
Sometimes after an high volume and/or intensity week you need a day of active recovery.  And boy was today active!  I started with a few hours of active time with Hailey and Mason.  The first hour or so were just moderately active, but the last hour and a half or more was a real workout.  Hailey wanted to run almost non-stop, racing me back and forth in the yard and running up and down the little hill I have.....plus we threw in lots of somersaults, spinning, jumping and hopping.  Hmmm......I wonder where she gets her energy from?
Later, I spent time giving my car the bath it needed so badly, and even cleaned the inside a bit.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Weight loss maintenance-10 tips for keeping it off for good!

Congratulations! Getting to your goal weight is a big accomplishment. Now, the next challenge is keeping it off. Maintaining a healthy weight requires an ongoing commitment to living a healthy lifestyle.

• Exercise about 1 hour each day (on average). This appears to be the #1 most important factor in keeping the weight off. Inviting a friend or family member to be your exercise partner can make workouts more enjoyable and keep you accountable.
• Eat a nutritious breakfast daily. This jump starts your metabolism, gives you fuel for the day, and makes it less likely that you will overeat later. 
• Eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Consistency is key. Making healthy food choices on a daily basis with occasional junk food is much better than overindulging on certain days of the week.
• Eat plenty of low-fat protein to help you feel full in between meals. 
• Weigh weekly. A weekly weigh-in allows you to track the trends without getting hung up on small daily ups and downs. Doing a waist measurement once a month is also a good way to track your progress. 
• 6.Watch less than 10 hours of TV per week and limit other sedentary activities such as web surfing and video games. When sitting, move your feet, shift in your seat, and tap your fingers. Even calories burned with small movements add up throughout the day.
• Activate your social network. Surrounding yourself with friends and family who can encourage you to keep up your healthy habits is incredibly important. 
• Create a healthy home environment. Keep fresh fruits and veggies within reach. If you purchase less-nutritious foods, buy only small portions and store them in hard-to-find places. And make sure to keep your gym bag near the door and home exercise equipment in plain view. Post reminders of why you want to be healthy in places that you look at often (bathroom mirror, car, refrigerator).
• Keep stress at bay. Times of increased stress put you at risk for backsliding to your old behaviors. Find ways to deal with stress that do not involve ditching your healthy lifestyle behaviors. 
• Reward yourself for staying on track but make sure to choose non-food rewards. Treat yourself to a spa service, a new clothing item, or something else you would enjoy for maintaining your goal weight each month. 

As with weight loss, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to weight maintenance. Pay attention to what does and doesn't work for you and create your own strategies for keeping your weight down.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- TGU/Pullup/Pushup Workout
After a good morning session with a client, I spent some time in my gym doing kettlebell TGUs followed by pullups and pushups.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Seven charts that explain America's obesity problem

A quick glance at new maps from the Centers for Disease Control tell a pretty damning tale of obesity in the US.
In every state, at least one-fifth of American adults are obese. In the Southern and Midwestern parts of the country, the problem is even more acute, and Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest obesity rates at over 35 percent.

Only a seven states and one district — Massachusetts, Hawaii, Colorado, Vermont, Montana, Utah, California, and the District of Columbia — recorded obesity rates below a quarter. Colorado was the least obese state, with a prevalence of 21.3 percent, followed by Hawaii at 21.8 percent.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Heavy Bag and Uhtoff Trails
I got my day started with a 30 minute heavy bag workout in my gym before it started heating up, and later in the afternoon, I had a good run/hike with a friend on the Uhtoff trails above Ashland.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Four Nutrition Myths That Are Bad For Your Health

We all want to eat well and choose the healthiest eating plans, but separating nutrition fact from fiction can be tricky. Here are some persistent nutrition myths I often hear from friends, family and even the media, along with the facts to clear the air.

1. Raw Foods are Always Healthier than Cooked Foods

While raw foods are full of vitamins, minerals and plant compounds that promote good health, some nutrients are more bioavailable when cooked. Lycopene, the carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red color, is absorbed three to four times better when cooked. Tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato soup and even tomato ketchup deliver more lycopene to the body than raw tomatoes. Kale is a rich source of beta-carotene and fat-soluble vitamins A and K, and all of these nutrients are more available to the body in cooked kale compared with raw kale. And the lutein in carrots, the compound that promotes healthy eyes and vision, is better absorbed in cooked carrots.
Cooking also makes proteins in meat and fish more easily digested, and let’s face it, meat or fish smells and tastes a lot better when cooked than it does in the raw state. Lastly, cooking helps destroy harmful bacteria that may lurk in foods. So, enjoy raw foods as part of a healthy eating plan, but remember that cooked foods have their merits.

2. All Processed Foods are Bad

If you think all processed foods are bad, put down your morning cup of coffee, tea or almond milk, as all of these morning favorites are processed foods. When talking about processed foods, most people think of foods that contain excessive added sugars, fats and sodium while contributing few healthful nutrients. Those types of packaged foods are not healthy, but processed foods aren’t all bad.
Baby carrots are processed, as are the kid-friendly apple slices sold in the produce section. And while bagged salads are more expensive, who hasn’t enjoyed the convenience of bagged produce when time is tight? Recent research from the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that new methods of processing to enhance the absorption of the good stuff in plant foods could be used to fight some cancers. So, instead of painting all processed foods as “bad,” differentiate between the processed foods that supply healthful nutrients versus those that contain too much sugar, fat and sodium.

3. Natural Foods are Always Healthier

The word “natural” conjures visions of fresh-picked blueberries or juice from freshly squeezed oranges. Too bad “natural” is a marketing buzzword that is not defined by the Food and Drug Administration. Some manufacturers use the word natural to make you believe a food is more healthful when in fact it is high in calories, fat or sugar.
For example, some candy is sold as natural because it contains agave nectar or honey, but to the body sugar is sugar no matter the source, so that doesn't make “natural” candy more healthful. Snack foods are also being touted as natural. Potato chips with the peel left on the potato before being fried into a chip are not more healthful than other chips. So, save your money on packaged foods touting to be “natural” and instead snack on truly natural foods like fruits, veggies and nuts.

4. All Sugar Should be Eliminated

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended that we cut our sugar intake from 10% of calories to 5% of calories. That equates to about 6 teaspoons of sugar or 25 grams per day. Sugar that occurs naturally, like in milk or fruit, is packaged with many other nutrients, so focus on reducing added sugars but don’t worry about the few grams of sugar in milk or fresh fruit.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park Hike and a Back Workout
Today I headed back out to the J-Ville Forest Park trails for a moderately paced hike.  Glad I wasn't intent on running since only about a mile in I twisted my ankle a bit.....not so bad that I couldn't do another 6 miles though.
Afterward, I spent some time in my gym doing weighted pullups, alternating single arm suspension pullups, suspension rear delt flyes, and hanging scapular depression/retraction.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Metabolic syndrome

About 35% of adults in the United States have metabolic syndrome, a serious medical condition that raises your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. A person with metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke and 5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone without it!

What is metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is not a specific disease, but rather a group of risk factors. You have metabolic syndrome if you have 3 or more of the following:

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Lower Table Rock Run
Today I completed my 100th Table Rock run in 2014, fairly evenly divided between the 2 Rocks (some hiking too, but the emphasis has been on running).
Plus, I spent a couple of hours catching up on yard work.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Helping Your Family Become More Active

What can you do when the people you love the most seem stuck in a pattern of sedentary living? Maybe you’d like to be more active, too? It can be tough to stick with a fitness routine when you’re the only physically active person in your household. There are ways to help your family build a healthy, active lifestyle.

Start with a Heart-to-Heart
Helping kids become more active is much easier when both adults are on the same page. Sit down with your spouse or partner and share the reasons why you want your family to spend more time moving and less time sitting around, which may include:

• Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, overweight, obesity, and stroke for both kids and parents.
• More energy and endurance to do fun, active things together as a family, such as travelling, hiking, bicycling, or camping.
• Helping your children and teens develop a lifelong habit of physical activity for optimal well-being.
• Fostering good brain health. Studies show that regular exercise optimizes conditions within the brain for learning, concentration, and critical thinking. It’s a natural mood elevator and has shown to prevent dementia and other age-related declines of brain function.
• Promoting a positive body image.
• Come up with a game plan and cultivate a new family culture of physical activity.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Chest Workout and Heavy Bag
After yesterday's trail run daily double, I gave the trails a break today.  But, I certainly wasn't sedentary.  I spent plenty of time in my gym, starting with a workout of BB bench presses, supersets of DB flyes and presses, and decline pushups.  I followed that a bit later with a 30 minute heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Mindfulness matters for health

Mindfulness can be described as an awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment. This is most commonly explored through mindful meditation, a practice that is credited with improving physical and mental health.

Beyond meditation, being mindful can help to improve attention and focus in nearly every aspect of life.

Thinking about your actions and the effect they have on your health and the health of others can be good for you and those around you.

It turns out that we engage in many health behaviors that are driven more by habit than conscious decision-making. This includes what, when, and how much we eat as well as how active we are, two of the most important determinants of health.

When was the last time you thought about what you were eating? Not just which restaurant to go to or what time to eat, but really thought about what and how much you ate?

Chances are, at least some of the time you eat when you aren’t hungry or keep eating even when you are full. You probably also eat foods you know you shouldn’t or don’t intend to, sometimes without even realizing it.

read the full article here

TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Jacksonville Forest Park and Grizzly Peak Runs/Hikes
After seeing clients in the morning, I headed to J-Ville Forest Park for a couple hours of running and hiking.  When I was done, and had cell reception, I had a message from a friend waiting for me inviting me to join her on Grizzly Peak.  So, how could I resist!  I drove to the other end of the valley and spent a few hours hiking and running on Grizzly Peak.  All in all, a fairly even mix of running and hiking between the two trail systems.

~Feelin' Alive!~