Channeling Dr Oz [Part II]

I've been talking about things I learnt (attributed to Dr Oz) from an article on www.ivillage.com on things that could help us win the battle of the bulge - or at least help maintain a healthy weight and life. I'm hoping that the points that follow will be as insightful as last weeks blog post.

Here we go....

Iced Drinks help coz they could help rev up your metabolism, so try to go for 3 iced drinks daily (if your teeth and health can manage that). We can all take this a notch higher when we ice up drinks that naturally push up our metabolism such as coffee and green tea. [Note to self – stay away from the prepackaged iced coffees and such they usually have too much processed sugar – make yours from scratch].

 

Vitamins – Zinc some researchers say can help reduce hunger (why didn’t anyone tell me this like 10 years ago?), so when you do take multivitamins, try to see that what you get has at least 15mg of zinc. Although it should be safe, I’d say ask your doctor before starting on any multi vitamin medication – better be safe than sorry, right?

Interval Training: This is the new thing in physical training science - exercising in short intense bursts of activity. What I do when I go for my morning walks is I walk/run (not quite running but definitely walking really fast – to the point that I get out of breath) for about 10mins, then slow down to a more manageable pace for 10mins – I continue this rhythm for my entire walk. You can do the same in your gym – on the treadmill, spinning machine etc – just really go all out and hit it for all you’ve got for some time, then reduce your tempo (don’t stop, keep moving but move slower and with less intensity).

 

I hear that interval training burns more calories than you would if you maintained a uniform pace during your entire work out.

I am partial to Strength Training (I use kettlebells regularly, and prefer them to Dumb bells), so I think I will blog about the benefits of K-bells as opposed to Dumb bells. Suffice it to say, that I attribute blasting my abdomen to my K-bell routine!

Until then...

In the meantime…

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Channeling Dr Oz [Part 1]

A few years ago I subscribed to www.ivillage.com and get their healthy living updates (I recommend them). Last week they sent Dr Oz’s 7 plans to boost metabolism (http://www.ivillage.com/try-dr-oz-s-7-day-miracle-plan-boost-metabolism/4-a-520728?nlcid=P1|03-13-2014|&_mid=5724833&_rid=5724833.35500.71984.2) and I learnt so much I cannot not but share. I’ll just give a quick summary (will probably break this into two posts), if you want more details – with links to cool widgets please visit the site yourself.

So now to what I learnt:

1: Know your basal metabolism (yes, you can actually do that using some calculator at http://calculators.epnet.com/View/Pages/BasalMetabolism.aspx?docid=healthcalculators%2flistofcalculators&CollectionIID=954&DeliveryContext=coe&token=1edc3d6e-4fec-4b20-baca-795e48830daa&hasHRA=true&frame=parent). Mine is 1763 and this represents the number of calories my body needs to burn when at rest, and tells me how many calories I can actually consume after which I start adding weight.

2: Cut 100 calories daily. To do this I guess I will need to track how many calories I eat each day (which seems very alien to me – because I do not want to be a calorie counter). I guess the way forward for me is to identify some foods/snacks that add up to 100 calories and if possible start eliminating/reducing my intake progressively. Does that make sense? It does to me…J So, what will get the axe?

 

·        4 Jacobs crackers =136calories

·        Kellogg’s Special K (1 serving = 87 calories)

·        1 cup of white beans = 378 calories

·        1 cup of white cornmeal (tuwo masara) = 450 calories

·        Sardine in oil (4 fish = 100 calories)

·        1 tablespoon of palm oil – 120 calories

·        1 bean cake ball (akara) = 75 calories

·        5 Dried Figs  =100calories

·        1 cup of roasted cassava (garri) = 360 calories

·        1 cup of raw white rice = 693 calories

·        1 cup of jollof rich = 868 calories

·        1 evaporated milk tin sized portion of pounded yam = 400 calories

·        Baked beans (130calories)

·        1 serving of Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur about 1 medium glass =147 calories

·        15 pieces of Cashews =100 calories

·        Seedless grapes (33 grapes =100 calories)

·        1 serving spoon of Whole grain penne pasta (34 pieces) =100 calories)

·        13 large Shrimp =100calories)

·        2, 1 ounce Cheddar Cheese cubes = 100calories)

(I got a lot of this information from www.edenlifestyle.com)

I guess if you really wanted to take at this, you could get any of the interesting calorie counting apps making the rounds now like www.caloriecount.com (it also has a mobile version – so you can check them calories on the go!) An easier way to check calories is to read the label of the item before you buy. You will look silly at first checking labels in the shop, but think of the health benefit to yourself.

But to be fair, this makes sense, and while it will take some discipline it could give us some long term results! Guess there’s no harm in trying, right? (who am I trying to convince, you or me? LOL)

3: Add Protein. You all know I am already a fan of protein – majorly because proteins keep you fuller for longer and I appreciate their value to my health. Plus as someone with a tendency to always feel hungry, I’ve found that having more proteins have helped curb my appetite (generally speaking). Also, I hear that proteins could help boost metabolism. Okay now, what’s not to love? Before I forget, the Dr Oz site also says you burn twice as much calories digesting proteins than you do carbs – that’s a double whammy, isn’t it?

Your proteins will include: fish, lean beef, chicken, cheese, soya, nuts, eggs, beans etc. But don’t overdo it…they do have calories as well. I recall when I was in secondary school and trying to lose weight; I eat so much beans and beans contained meals. To my chagrin I ADDED weight - someone told me years after that while I was eating protein, the quatity was far too much, and I discounted the calorie content of other ingredents used to prepare the meal namely the high fat oils. So please do remember that balance is key!

I've included the diagram below to highlight some more healthy protein food sources...

Personally I try to eat 2 times more proteins than carbs each day. So I’ll opt for steamed beans cakes (moi-moi) rather than boiled yams; grilled fish with veg rather than rice. Again, balance is KEY! I check my quantity above all else! I think this is actually working for me.

4: Eat every 3 hours! Yes! I like this one! LOL. In a bid to lose weight, I was an expert in skipping meals for days on end, and then I’d binge; then start the cycle over again. From my ‘before’ pictures you can tell how that worked for me. L Since I started my healthy lifestyle journey I make a point to eat at least 5 small meals each day (many times I don’t make it to 5, but I try to ‘eat little but often’). When I say eat, a meal could actually be a couple of apples, a cup of plain yoghurt, yesterday I had a mug of homemade mango juice,  a cup of tea (yes, I see tea as a meal – it’s me conditioning my mind to accept this as a meal so I do not binge – It makes sense in my head J), a couple of pieces of grilled chicken (suya) – nothing too heavy, but enough that I do not feel deprived. I get all of these in before 6pm, coz after 6 pm I try not to eat anything. It was difficult at first, but it is a way of life now.

According to Dr Oz, your meals should be timed a bit like this:

6-8am –Breakfast

10am – Snack

12-2pm – Lunch

3-5pm – Snack

5 - 7pm - Dinner

 

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this on the right shows how your eating impacts your internal calorie burn-ability. Incentive to try eating more regularly but less each day? For me it is...!Apparently there is research that shows that people who snack on 250 calories each day eat less at regular meal times and have higher metabolic rates.

...next week...

 

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(health information, recipes and things to know about progressing towards a healthy lifestyle)

What is Sabotaging My Weight Loss? -Bandidos De Grasa [Fat Bandits]

I heard (or maybe read) that lives rise and fall on our HABITS – putting it simply the secrets of our success(es) are hidden in our daily routine/habits (got this from Mike Murdoch). Thinking about this I own that there could be things I do or not fail to do that contribute to my ‘situation’ (LOL). So typical me I went to Google to help me identify which habits I needed to ‘nix’. So this week I want to share what I learned with you … you will be surprised.

And as you read, please ask…are these my habits too?

Habit 1

Focus on ‘LOW FAT’ Labels

When I shop, I tend to gravitate to those items marked ‘low fat’, ‘99% fat free’… fat free biscuit, low fat spam…and such. But according to Dr Oz ‘fat free or low fat’ does not mean fewer calories, and manufacturers actually pile on the calories –in sugar, flour, thickeners etc to make up for the potential lack of flavor. But when you eat these, they don’t have the full contingent of nutrients your body needs to function, then they tend to fill you up fast then evaporate even faster (reminds me of a particular type of cuisine that is said to fill you up at the table but by the time you get to the door you are hungry again).

In the article I read we are actually advised to curb ‘low fat’ options to foods that did not undergo major processing before hitting the shop floor eg low fat milk, 99% skimmed milk, low fat cheese, or yoghurt.

So, note to self: And avoid low fat cookies, low fat snacks, low fat cereal or canned food.

Habit 2

Mindless Eating

This is a personal one for me – because I am SO GUILTY! Maybe ‘mindless eating’ is not the politically correct term, but I am referring to the gazillion cups of tea that gulped with unnumbered Jacobs cream crackers while at my desk working. It’s funny how my mental picture of productivity is desk, laptop, cup of tea/coffee and a box of cream crackers. Look at it this way:

Average of 10 crackers =34calories x 10 = 340!!! And these are empty calories at that, because lunch or dinner is sure to follow – so you see how this sets you up? And this is the crackers alone…I’ve not entered the coffee creamer or the milk.

In the past I have been known to gobble up the entire roll of cream crackers – no wonder, right?

So, note to self: No more mindless eating (…I will have my tea/coffee with the occasional healthy quantity of biscuit – but I will not gorge myself on them), I am learning to pack my lunch and have a pleasant healthy lunch. Plus I am working not just reaching for random bits of food without thinking about why I am eating – coz everyone pays for mindless eating.

Habit 3

Plate Scrubbing

I don’t know if you had a mom like mine (smile), but growing up we were never allowed to leave food on our plates – you had to finish everything mom dished out - no matter how BIG. Now that conditioning has resulted in habits where I tend to keep eating even when I know I shouldn't - whole mountains of food are pushed down, just because we need to clear our plates. To be frank, it kind of got difficult to know WHEN I was really full and to stop eating (my fault, not my moms).

I have a confession (and if you are honest you can relate with this) – I used to only frequent restaurants that offered ‘healthy’ portions J --- you know what I mean. I’d actually compare notes with friends about which establishments were more generous with helpings of food and that was where we ate.

With my journey, I realize that I really do not have to scrub my plate; my leaving food after I eat is not a sign of wastefulness or selfishness, but rather a sign of discipline! I heard it said that when you eat put a knife to your throat, for me I this means that I regulate how fast I eat (another destructive habit) so that I don’t miss the ‘tank full’ signal that comes when my stomach is pleasantly full – so we should not be eating till our tummies hurt, or we can barely move. Many of us are so conditioned that we do not even know when we are full – do you? How do you know? I had to re-learn the signals, learn to listen to my tummy and not overeat. So, I am breaking the habit of scrubbing my plate; I

Habit 3

Olympic Track Eating

I’ve heard tell that the fastest dog does not always beat the smartest dog to the finish line. One habit I caught was that I could eat so fast that the taste buds in my mouth would not have processed the taste of the food before the food was in my tummy. Seriously! How I developed this habit is another story for another day – but let me say that again it was childhood conditioning. L [Parents please help your kids develop healthy eating habits NOW, so they are not set up to struggle tomorrow]. In battling my bulge (pun intended) I worked with a nutritionist last year and she taught me that one way to hear when my tummy was full was to eat slowly (I am told twenty chews per bite)– give yourself time to really enjoy the food, savor the flavors and realize when you are actually full (NEWS FLASH: you are not full when all the food on/in your plate is gone). Eating is not an Olympic event – enjoy it, let it last (reasonably), taste the food, sniff the aroma…at least that’s my advice to me.

Habit 4

Me, Gremlin

Remember the movie ‘Gramlins’? Remember what happened when you fed them cute critters at night? There has to a cautionary tale there, right?

Well, I used to be among those that argued that heavy late night meals (eaten less than 4 hours before bedtime) were NOT detrimental to your waistline – but I have recanted! By heavy I mean fried plantains, yams, meat/poultry, garri etc- heavy carbs/starch and proteins. I’ve found that when I indulge just before bed I suffer for it through the night with heartburn. Also I read somewhere that some of these foods do not really digest before you shut down (not sure how true it is, but it’s scary enough to put me off heavy late night meals) so you actually wake up with undigested food in your tummy leading to toxin build up, bad breath, lethargy etc. I’ve said severally that I do my best not to eat after 6pm, but if I must it has to be something as light as possible – I opt for a cup of tea, or fruit (grapes are quite filling and since you chew them down they should digest before you bed down for the night – and they take about 1hr 45mins to digest). If you want more information on digestion times you should visit http://www.unani.com/digestion_time_of_foods.htm

Habit 4

Sahara Lifestyle

Are you like me and can go without real H2O (aka water) for hours on end? If I don’t watch it I could go without a simple drink of [pure] water for a whole day. I tell myself that my tea intake is liquid enough but that is not ideal! So I am trying to stop this habit, because there is no better detoxifier than agua …water! Plus water has been said to help people manage blood sugar levels.

I hear that everyone should have at least 8 full glasses of water each day…other people say 1litre is ideal. This is especially important for those of us who live in hot climates – you need to put back in what the sun takes out each day.

I’ve spoken of my leadership coach Robin Sharma previously (the author of ‘The Leader with No Title’), he says emphatically (and I agree) that ‘you can’t DO good if you don’t FEEL good’. I hope and believe that when I get my daily routine right (habits) I’ll be more energized & focused to DROP IT 4 Life!

Obviously, this is by no way an exhaustive list… just some of the things I am trying to build into my life. What other habits do we have that sabotage our efforts? What habits are YOU struggling with? What habits do you recommend for people who want to DROP IT? Care to share/comment?

And while you are thinking about this, care to share on what is sabotaging YOUR weight loss? I'd really love to hear from you.

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Bigger & More to Love?

I was asked recently why this sudden desire to ‘DROP IT’. I was actually told that the bigger I was the more my significant other would have to love. As I responded, I had to think about all of the reasons I am so committed to getting to a healthy weight and living a healthy life. I believe…

All action is driven by desire –

-         You are hungry and want to be full, so you eat

-         You feel hot and sticky and want to feel fresh and clean, so you have a bath

-         Your head aches and you need relief, so you take pain meds [or meditate or sleep]

-         You have a desire to be the best student in class, so put in extra work to study and pass exams

-         You want to be Forbes Woman of the Year, so you push yourself and accomplish…

…I could go on. But the fact is we are all driven and motivated by something – whether you recognize it or not…that drive is there.

My drive to DROP IT comes from a desire to be free of the myriad of health issues associated with [morbid] obesity. As I review my motivations I want to share some of these obesity associated health challenges (just a list) hopefully it either triggers new motivations or reinforces our individual drive & commitment to DROP IT 4 LIFE!

Here goes:

Obesity (Wikipedia defines obesity as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems) puts you at risk of developing either, some, or all of the following:

High Blood Pressure

Sleep Apnea

Swollen limbs

Depression

Type 2 Diabetes

Coronary Heart Disease

Gallstones

Stroke

Cancers (including colon, breast, endometrial & gallbladder)

Abnormal blood fats

Infertility

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome (a high Cholesterol, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure combo)

Osteoarthritis

Obesity Hypoventilation syndrome

All of these are at worst life threatening, and at best they will seriously inhibit your quality of life!

Everyone wants to live a full and productive life, retire & dot on great grand kids, right? Obesity will seriously reduce your chance of achieving this.

Personally, I remember (painfully) not being allowed to get on rides at amusement parks because I was over the weight limit; I remember not being able to sit with my nephew on a ride because my hips and girth just won’t fit.

Wives want to hang out with husbands or significant others and their friends and not feel different, frumpy, inadequate (to an extent), right? Obesity will hold you down from being able to enjoy this simple pleasure.

I also remember turning down invitations to socials, because I did not want to be the biggest person there. This seriously affected my social life. More recently, I recall sky high blood pressure levels and being told that my blood sugar was too high.

The truth is that when you are obese you are closer to meeting your creator than you think. Scary? Yes – but not any less a FACT. But I am not quite ready for that appointment – I still have loads to accomplish, mountains to climb, lives to influence – I DO have a lot to live for. Don’t you?

 

What is your DRIVE? What’s your motivation for wanting to trim down to a healthier weight/size? Care to share?

Do you have any experience with any of the health challenges mentioned? How have you managed the issue? Are you coping? Or is it overwhelming? If I may say here – you are NOT alone – there are many with similar issues - it’s a one day at a time battle. A battle, yes – but a WINNABLE battle!

On a lighter note though…what do you suggest I say to the person that said to me that the bigger I am the more there is of me to love?

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