Archive for June, 2011

If there’s one thing I’m sick of, it’s the “healthy swaps” books and articles that suggest completely tiny, non-satisfying foods in place of the ones we love (and crave). For example, if I am desiring something sweet, a 100-calorie pack of flat, dry Oreo-flavored crisps falls pretty low on my list – and even if I did eat it, I’d end up searching out the “real thing” sooner or later, blowing my diet in the process.

The proof is in the pudding: the only thing that satisfies like food is, well, actual food.  Chemicals and additives simply will not do.

So what does bene-fit suggest when the sweet/salty/carb cravings hit?  We, like you, are not fit-starved robots – we need a treat that tastes good, feels filling, and doesn’t ruin a healthy eating lifestyle.

For those who crave sweet, why not top a whole wheat Eggo waffle with a tablespoon of Greek yogurt and sliced fresh strawberries?  Another option is a s’more sundae – a single-serving Jello chocolate pudding cup topped with a crumbled graham cracker and five mini marshmallows.  Bananas can be nature’s ice cream – simply freeze one and place it between two graham crackers along with a spread of your favorite yogurt.

There are, of course, those of us who want salty snacks.  A great and easy option here is a 100-calorie bag of microwave popcorn sprinkled with a teaspoon of parmesan cheese (put it right into the bag and shake it up to coat!).  A super-filling option is a small baked potato with two tablespoons of salsa and an ounce of grated low-fat cheese.  For a portable treat, roll a leaf of lettuce into a small whole-wheat tortilla and top with 1/4 cup black beans and your salsa/hot sauce of choice.

Remember, fruits and vegetables are always a healthy snack (that’s why Weight Watchers recently changed their system to make these “zero-point” foods!) and can often fulfill the kinetic act of eating (a simple switch can be to turn off the “autopilot eating” around a bag of chips and switch out to baby carrots and hummus) without overloading the calories.  Foods that take slightly longer to eat and prepare can challenge you to consider whether you’re really hungry or just “filling the void” – of boredom, fatigue, or stress.

Long story short, there is always a healthy snack option - simply stock your fridge with healthy snacks, prepare them to your liking (i.e. slice strawberries, wash and chop broccoli, or freeze bananas), and make a conscious choice to stay on track – even when you snack.

PCOS.

To many, this is an unknown acronym.  But for those who suffer from it, the condition – known as polycystic ovarian syndrome – is almost a certifiable guarantee of an impending weight problem – particularly if weight is already an issue before the diagnosis.

PCOS is a condition in which the ovaries don’t make enough hormones for the eggs to fully mature.  Aside from the technical definition, PCOS makes the bloodstream insulin-resistant – and can cause not only weight gain, but extremely difficult weight loss among the women who are diagnosed (this is significant since statistics show that 6 out of 10 of PCOS sufferers are overweight).

Even more alarming, PCOS can cause increased abdominal (androgen) fat stores, resulting in the “apple” shape that studies suggest is more dangerous for women than the typical female “pear” shape.

If you are a woman who struggles with both a PCOS diagnosis and excess weight, the outlook can be grim.  Doctors may prescribe metformin, thiazolidinediones, or Rimonabant to lose weight, but these medications are not without complications and side effects – some more uncomfortable than the weight itself.

So what are the natural (read: drug free) options?

First, and most critically, women with PCOS must clean up their diet.  Using a healthy detox program like Clean and following up with an eat-clean lifestyle handbook is a great start to eliminate processed foods, chemicals, and sugars from the diet and begin to reduce the glucose stockpiles in the blood that lead to stored fat.  The PCOS diet should rely on vegetables, lower-fructose fruits, lean meats, and whole grains.  If you are unsure what to eat while adhering to a “clean” diet, consult a registered dietitian for a customized program.

Second (and here’s the great news!) – even moderate levels of exercise (such as 20-30 minutes daily) can improve PCOS symptoms and speed along weight loss.  The most important factor in the exercise you choose is that it gets your heart rate up and is enjoyable for you to perform.  Whether running, walking, swimming, lifting weights, doing power yoga, or cycling, there are plenty of great exercise options to explore – and hiring a personal trainer can ensure that you are engaged, using proper form, and motivated to continue.

Finally, consider online support for women with PCOS.  Personal blogs like Maddy’s PCOS Diary, compilation sites like SoulCysters, or even video diaries on YouTube can be both inspiring and community-building.  The most important thing to know about the disease is that you are not alone - in fact, 6.6% of U.S. women (over 1 in 20 women of childbearing age).

As with any health problem, one of the worst things you can do is ignore the symptoms and pretend like it isn’t happening.  Take charge of your health and make PCOS a condition you live with, not a condition that impairs your life.  Assemble a professional health team (your doctor, personal trainer, and registered dietitian) as well as a personal support network (friends, family, and online communities) and you can conquer PCOS-related weight gain.

We believe that what sets bene-fit apart as a fitness company is not that we offer great personal training, boot camps, or training programs (although we do offer top-notch services in all of those areas), but rather that we focus on total wellness - addressing the needs of our clients holistically, rather than in separate parts or pieces.

That’s why we subscribe to one of the best wellness magazines out there – Whole Living.

Rather than most women’s health magazines that try to woo you with pictures of impossibly skinny (and confoundingly muscle-free) models or pitch over-the-top diet trends (lemon juice and cayenne pepper detoxes? no thanks.), Whole Living offers sensible ideas for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being – and bene-fit is definitely on board with that.

A recent issue addressed the concept of whole living (otherwise known as the catch-all term wellness) and tried to nail down the top ten ideas./thoughts/mantras on what makes a whole living philosophy unique and practical.  We chose to reprint those here for your introspection:

10) Rather than trying to fix your body from the outside, focus on how you want it to feel from the inside.
9) The mark of true confidence is the ability to look someone in the eye.
8) Let the seasons guide your diet. The earth grows what you need when you need it.
7) Respect your feet. They’ve mastered the art of staying grounded while moving forward.
6) Take charge of your own reflection. Stop letting the mirror win.
5) Enlightenment doesn’t always make a grand entrance.  It slowly transforms ordinary to extraordinary.
4) Change happens somewhere between the acceptance of what is and the anticipation of what could be.
3) Wellness is about making your life bigger, not your hips smaller.
2) Surprise yourself when you push past your physical limits.
1) Nothing connects you to who you are like the people who have known who you were.

Today, take some time to reflect on your own wellness – whether you are just starting your personal path to whole living or whether you’ve mastered the art in your daily life.  Do you have some tips or thoughts on whole living for bene-fit readers? Share them in the comments section – we love hearing from you!

…starts with a single step – as long as those steps are cushioned in running shoes and supported with cross-training, yoga, and a healthy diet!

Whew.

This past month (May) was National Runners Month, punctuated by June 1st – National Running Day!  In honor of these great events, I set out to run every single day in May - plus the 1st of June – for at least 2 miles.

So I’m sure you’re wondering: did I do it?  For the most part…yes!  Read on for my top five experiences and reflections over this 32-day running challenge:

I missed one day.  Truth is, it wasn’t even a good excuse (I was at the spa with girlfriends and then surprised by dinner by my boyfriend), and it was right next to the finish line (May 30).  At first, I was completely angry with myself – but then, I realized that the only person who would judge me for missing one day of running (again, with 31 other quality days!) was me - and sometimes we are our hardest critics.  This was a great lesson in doing the best we can – without wasting negativity on the things we cannot do.

I got really sore (but not as sore as I thought!).  There were some days that the two miles were all I could muster; others I was flying through 7-8 miles like it was nothing.  I definitely needed to do more stretching and yoga along the route – this is the lesson learned here, that just running every day is not enough without a balanced cross-training program – but I was pleasantly surprised at how much the body adapts to a great deal of running in a fairly efficient way.

I did more than I’d planned.  I set the two-mile minimum as a way to make sure I felt like I’d really “run” that day, without feeling overwhelmed and overcommitted – but in the end, I averaged over 5 miles per day!  The lesson here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to set specific, achievable goals – but you should also be prepared to exceed your expectations and go above and beyond when you’re working hard and making progress toward a fitness goal.

I became a tourist in my own city.  Determined to break out of my regular neighborhood 4-miler (which, by the way, I did return to at several points during the month for familiarity’s sake), I planned new routes, ran new streets, explored new territory.  I had gorgeous runs through the hoity-toity neighborhoods of Beverly Hills and enjoyed the lush, tree-lined streets of Raleigh-Durham.  I set my iPod to “shuffle all” and even explored new musical landscapes to boot (who knew that Sousa could actually be powerful running fuel?).  The lesson I learned here is that it is relatively simple to feel refreshed and renewed even when you’re pounding the pavement day-in and day-out – it just takes a bit of planning and an adventurous spirit.

And finally, I am relieved it’s over.  I am a die-hard runner – I’ve done marathons, triathlons, 200-mile relay races, and everything in between – but even run-lovers like me need a break.  A good lesson here is that in fitness, as in life, there can be too much of a good thing – and we all need to break out of our “regular” exercise ruts and try something new!  I won’t be running today (June 2nd) but after receiving a pair of Vibram FiveFingers for my birthday, I’m already itching to try them out in my next run – after I get myself to yoga, of course.

The total stats ended up like this: 27.67 total hours of running (whoa, that’s over a DAY!) for a total of 184.4 miles and an average distance of 5.76 miles/day (including the day off – double whoa!).  I feel like I really did something significant and oddly enough, can’t wait for next May to do it all again!

Next stop: marathon training for December’s Rock and Roll Las Vegas.  Catch up with you soon, bene-fitters!