Aging Women & Weight

Wednesday March 24th The Press Enterprise printed an article titled, “Women face big need for workout.” This article was informative but came as no surprise to me. The article stated that aging women who want to maintain a healthy weight need to exercise (at a moderate pace) for at least an hour a day. This excluded women who were dieting. On the other hand, women who were overweight who didn’t diet need to exercise more than an hour a day. This was a 13 year study based on 34,079 nondieting middle-aged women. The article went on to say that women who took part in the study who were at a healthy weight, BMI (less than 25) and gained little or no weight were the women who exercised an hour a day at a moderate pace. In addition, only 13% of the women in this study meet that profile. The women who were overweight in the study that did not adjust their caloric intake and exercised for an hour a day were still gaining weight.

As we age our metabolism begins to slow. Some people notice a big change when they get to be in there 30’s. You can curtail the weight gain by exercising and adjusting your caloric intake. Part of the reason for metabolism slowing has to do with mitochondria slowing in cells (nutrients turned to energy) and muscle wasting. Exercise helps to increase mitochondria that inturn increase your metabolism. When you increase lean muscle mass, it requires more energy, thus speeding up your metabolism. When muscles are not used regularly, they atrophy and muscle wasting occurs and you gain weight.

Cardiovascular exercise helps burn calories during and after exercise (for a certain amount of time). Strength training builds lean muscle, burns calories and keeps burning throughout the day. Just remember that muscle requires more energy, resulting in a faster metabolism.

In closing, getting older is not doom and gloom. It’s a process of wisdom, knowledge and maturing. It’s also a time that brings on new challenges involuntarily and voluntarily. For example, you don’t have to be 21 to run the LA Marathon. In fact I know, clients, friends and colleagues, who are in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s who will tell you that they are in better shape now than when they were in their 20’s. I’m proud to say that aging has made me wiser resulting in me taking better care of myself and my overall fitness is better now than when I was 21.

If you want to check out the full details of women aging and exercise, the study can be found in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Muscle Fibers & A Flash Back To My Past

My dear brother who works in the same industry inspired this week’s blog. We both are strong willed, value good health and live to help others improve their health. Our training styles can be different and our nutritional advice may or may not match. But one things for sure, we are teachers to the people we work with and the people we work with are in turn our teachers. Long story short, he and I were having an interesting discussion about muscle fibers and exercise this past weekend. So this week’s topic is regarding muscle fibers (fast twitch and slow twitch) and how those muscle groups come into play.

Slow twitch muscle fibers have a high resistance to fatigue and a slow contraction time. Structurally these muscle fibers are small in diameter, contain small motor neurons, higher amount of triglycerides and a low amount of creatine phosphate. What this means is that these types of muscle fibers are at work when you participate in low impact aerobic activity such as walking, sitting (keeping posture) and life’s daily task. In addition, slow twitch muscle fibers use more fat for energy compared to fast twitch muscle fibers.

Fast twitch muscle fibers consist of fast twitch A & B. These muscle fibers are opposite of slow twitch. For example, they are larger in diameter, higher in creatine phosphate, glycogen and fair in triglyceride stores. These muscles come into play during a long duration of anaerobic activity with a high intensity output such as racing. Fast twitch B fibers are more likely to fatigue however, they contain more power than ST muscle fibers, which is why they work well during short anaerobic activity, like sprinting, jumping etc…

Athletes who excel in certain sports such as sprinting are likely to have more fast twitch B muscle fibers compared to endurance athletes who may have more slow twitch muscle fibers.

If your wondering which muscle fibers you may have more of, then ask yourself what am I good at? In other words, do you do excel in endurance sports such as running? If so, you genetically have more slow twitch muscle fibers. Maybe, you excel in sports such as power lifting. Then you genetically have more fast twitch muscle fibers. Can you change your genetic makeup, no. On the other hand, if you have more slower twitch muscle fibers and you want to get into power lifting, you can train your fast twitch muscle fibers resulting in an increase in strength but you will always have more ST and may not excel in power lifting like someone who genetically has more FT.

In closing I thought I would include some fond memories of growing up. I have always been a tomboy and perhaps that has to do with growing up with two brothers. I can remember always wanting to be like my older brother. We were inner city kids and grew-up in some rough areas. Weight training was a lifesaver for my brothers and I. It gave us confidence and self-esteem. I remember the first time my brother trained me. He basically put 100 lbs on the bench press and told me to, “get it up and don’t expect my help.” Somehow I got the impression that he wasn’t going to help me, so out of fear I benched pressed 100 lbs. As cruel as that may seem, that prepared me for many difficult situations that I later faced as a teenager. And to some degree that molded me to who I am today.

All of life’s experiences can make us, break us, shape us and through every experience we become better and our bettering is a gift that we can share with others.

Natural Product Expo West Food Reviews

This week’s blog is about my experience at this years Natural Products Expo West. For 5 years I have attended the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim and every year I feel at home and overwhelmed with excitement just anticipating all the latest products that are currently and soon to be in the market place. For me Expo West gives me the opportunity to meet up with old contacts and make new contacts. Most of all, it’s an educational experience. I always walk a way learning something new and eating something good.

Every year at the Anaheim convention center Exhibitors from all around the world come to present the latest products that vary from foods, supplements, cosmetics etc…People who work in the health, natural products and fitness industry are able to talk to the exhibitors and find out what makes their product so great or taste so good. In some cases just trying their foods you can definitely taste why their product is great or not so great. I must confess I am a foodie so I do enjoy lounging the Natural & Specialty Foods halls, especially during the lunch hours. I had the opportunity to try a variety of foods and by the end of the day I was well feed. Some of the foods that I really enjoyed were some new foods and some old favorites. Before I share these foods, I just want to say what a wonderful day and age to live in where healthy foods no longer taste like cardboard. In fact, there is no better time to eat healthier than now. The foods I tried were filled with flavor, not laden with salt or sugar but true flavor.

A company by the name of Ozery Bakery Inc. puts out some very tasty breakfast pitas. The flavors vary from Breakfast Muesli, Cranberry Orange, to my favorite Apple Cinnamon. These pita are low in sodium, fat, good source of fiber and free of artificial preservatives. Another product I enjoyed is Guiltless Gourmet's Wraps. This is a freezer kept food that needs to be heated before serving. They come in 3 flavors, Mediterranean Spinach, California Veggie and my favorite, Black Bean Chipotle Wrap. They have a fair amount of protein, high in fiber, no trans fats and all natural (no, preservatives or artificial ingredients). If you’re on a gluten free diet, O Doughs makes a pizza kit and the pizza crust is made from flax, potato, tapioca, soy and whole grain rice flour. Each kit comes with sauce and the topping are up to you. So if you want a pizza with veggies, purchase a kit and go buy the veggies. Another food that I enjoyed a little more than I should was the Coconut Shrimp and Sesame Ginger Wild Salmon by a company named Wild Catch. All their seafood items are high quality and they follow high standards regarding harvesting practices and being environmentally responsible. They have a variety of seafood’s that range from shrimp scampi, wild sole, crab cakes and more. All of the seafood items are prepared, meaning from the freezer to the oven and to you stomach. A protein bar that I tried that I found to be fairly tasty is put out by a company called PureFit. They have a variety of bars. Almond Crunch, Berry Almond Crunch, Chocolate Brownie, Granola Crunch and my favorite Peanut Butter Crunch. The Peanut Butter Crunch bar has 240 calories (I would divide this into two serving) 7 grams of fat, no trans fat, and 18 grams of complete protein. I also enjoyed Blue Diamond’s Almond milk, which comes in a variety of flavors. This can be used as a milk substitute for cereal however, it does not contain the amount of protein that milk does, but I certainly enjoyed having a cup of the vanilla flavored milk. An old favorite of mine is Halvah. This is a sesame bar that comes is chocolate, vanilla, marble and sesame flavor. A serving is 150 calories and it has 9 grams of good fats, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein and 14 grams of carbohydrates. Last but not least is a coffee substitute made by a company named Teeccino. This is one of the best coffee subs. I've tasted. This morning I enjoyed a cup of the Dark Roast Chocolate that has a rich chocolate flavor with a bit of a bite. Teeccino comes in a variety of flavors that range from Hazelnut, Vanilla Nut, Mocha, Caffe and more. The ingredients are all organic and include:carob, barley, chicory, nuts, cocoa and some spices. Each cup is filled with a nutty aroma and taste delicious.

These are some of the foods that I tried, enjoyed and can be found at a local natural foods market such as Clark's Nutritional Centers. Sometimes it can take several months before the products hit the market due to supply and demand. I wished I had more time to cover the whole show floor but at several thousand square feet and spending time talking to some of the most educated people who know their products, it’s almost impossible. But I will certainly look forward to going again next year.

Boosting Your Metabolism

Working as a personal trainer, I’ve been asked every question under the sun regarding weight loss. And my response is not too complicated but before I share my response, here are a few of the questions and comments that I’ve heard that may sound familiar to you. What’s the best way to increase my metabolism? How can I loose fat for good? Will I ever be able to get back to my old weight? Everything I eat seems to go to my hips. If your goal is to loose fat weight and increase your metabolism, then your plan should be to increase lean muscle mass.

Lean muscle mass can help slow down the aging process on your body and speed up your metabolism. Recent studies have shown that exercise can increase your life span by adding as much as 1-4 years to your life. The effects of a moderate to vigorous exercise routine can speed up your metabolism for several hours post exercise contributing to weight loss. Exercise also helps to reduce your chance of many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, other metabolic disorders and more.

A good exercise routine should consist of weight training 2-3 days a week, using major muscles groups. Such as your quadriceps, latissimus dorsi and pectoral muscles. Exercises that include using major muscle groups such as quadriceps will usually target secondary muscle groups. For example, if you perform a squat the primary muscles used are the quadriceps while secondary muscles include the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles. Also, including a cardiovascular program will not only help burn fat but increase your cardio respiratory fitness (heart and lungs). Aerobic activity should be done at least 3-5 days a week for 20-60 minutes depending on your goals. Try to keep your heart rate in the target training zone of 50-90%. Keep in mind that your target heart rate should be based on your current fitness level and gradually increased over time. Stretching should be a part of your exercise regimen and should consist of stretching all major muscle groups 2-3 days a week. Try to hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds. Stretching is best done after exercise because muscle will be warmed up, reducing the risk of injury.

Lastly, but certainly not least, eat healthy! I can’t tell you enough how important it is to fuel your body with calories that will contribute to muscle gain and fat loss. Protein is the building block of amino acids and your body needs protein to build lean muscle and lean muscle requires more energy, thus speeding up your metabolism. If you lack protein in your diet, don’t expect to build muscle. The breakdown process of protein to amino acids requires more energy.

Weight loss is not just about seeing the scale read 120 lbs. it's about lowering your body fat, having a BMI and hip to waist ratio in a healthy range. Also, weight loss does not have to be short lived, it can be permanent when it's done correctly. The bottom line is there is no quick fix to loosing weight. However there is a long-term fix that requires your time and the mindset of making good health a priority.