April 2, 2012

• Your Challenge

  FYI, this is a long post, but it’s full of very useful information, and I hope you have some questions answered.

  Okay, so I’ve been a bit behind in my psychology readings. I still have about 80 pages to read by class tomorrow night. Anyway, the part I’m at in my textbook right now is about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, going through them a bit more in depth than the general psych class I took in high school. At the base of the pyramid is the need to eat, and from there the book goes into issues with being overweight and obese. So this post is going to be full of information, both from my psychology textbook (Psychology, Ninth Edition, by David G. Myers) and from knowledge I’ve gained over the years, and then a challenge for everyone. The point of this post isn’t to demean anyone, meaning if you know how to lose weight, that’s great. So anyway, here it goes (also, I said a lot of this in @LKJSlain‘s post).

  First, I’ve been learning that a lot of things are a combination of nature and nurture. Meaning, they work together in most situations, such as raising a child. The nature part is that our genes do play a part, but only to an extent. Our environment and experiences can trigger genes or let them lay dormant. The same is with weight. In some people, there is a gene that makes a person predisposed to being overweight. If you don’t know anything about genetics, basically parents can carry a gene but they might not express it, and they can pass it on to their children. So, it’s entirely possible for two brown eyed parents to have a blue eyed child. If both parents carry a recessive gene for blue eyes and both of them pass on that recessive gene, the child could have blue eyes. Anyway, the same is with most of our genes, they can passed on this way. Including the gene for weight. And this gene makes sense, because of our ancestry of being hunter-gatherers. In those days, meals were when you could get it, so we developed ways to store fat as energy. Also, this is why we naturally crave foods that are more sugary and salty. These two tastes determine foods that are more conducive to storing fat as energy. However, that’s not the entire story. That’s just the nature side.

  The nurture (environment) side of being overweight has more than one factor. One of them is that portion sizes have gotten way too big. I believe that portion sizes started growing in the 1960′s or 70′s. Dinner plates and bowls have gotten larger. We feel like we need to fill our plates, so the bigger the plate, the more we eat. The sizes of our plates and bowls should be cut in half. The same is true of restaurants. Their portion sizes have gotten huge. In studies, even nutritionists eat too much when given bigger dishes. They will eat more ice cream if given a bigger bowl and a bigger scooper. It’s also been shown in other studies that when we eat socially, we tend to overeat. Such as when we go out to dinner with friends.

  The other factor in nurture is WHAT we’re eating. The processed food we eat is absolutely horrible. This is MOST food that we find even at the grocery store. Many of those items are extremely high in sodium. A Lean Cuisine single meal has about 67% percent of our daily recommended intake of sodium, which retains water and clogs our arteries, and is linked to heart disease and heart attack. Reading the nutrition facts on labels is extremely important, and most of the things we buy when we think we are eating healthy is actually harmful to us. Anything that has a preservative is bad. That usually means there’s some kind of plastic in it that preserves it’s shelf life. Healthy foods should have an expiration date (this doesn’t mean that everything that has an expiration date is healthy).

  So now that we know WHY we are so unhealthy in this society (even if you’re not overweight….weight doesn’t paint the entire picture on how healthy a person is), here are ways that we can lead a healthier lifestyle. First, we need to cut our portions. This page on WebMD tells you what the correct portion size is for food. Such as for chicken breast, 1 portion is 3 oz cooked, about the size of a deck of cards. Second, we need to change what we’re eating. This means severely limiting eating out, because most restaurants prepare food from frozen sources, and when it’s frozen it usually has a high sodium content (the only exception is frozen vegetables with no sodium added, such as steamable veggies like corn and peas). It also means drinking mostly water. Many juices have added sugars. It’s better to eat an orange than to drink orange juice. It also means limiting buying processed foods at the grocery store, such as boxed dinners and frozen foods. Third, regular exercise is needed. Usually about half an hour 4 times a week.

  Now, other than being healthier, here are the keys to actually losing weight, if it’s needed. It’s important to follow the guidelines above, and be completely honest with yourself. It’s been said that we can eat what we want in moderation. Yes, this is true. However, this can be used to rationalize eating junk food (junk food not just meaning candy and chips…what I mean is anything unhealthy including processed foods) more and more until you’re back to your old habits…I know, because that’s what I’ve done the last couple of weeks. It might be best to put that thinking out of our minds if we’re trying to change our lifestyle. If we are to keep ourselves accountable, it’s important to write down everything we eat and drink every day.

  It’s also important to eat five times a day. If you think that’s eating a lot, it’s really not. Because, you have to keep in mind proper portions of food. Eating less more frequently boosts your metabolism, which is important to losing weight, having a high metabolism. It’s also important to have proper carb-to-protein ratio. Carbs are found in foods such as pastas and breads, and protein is found in its higher concentrations in meat. Carbs have a higher fat content. Protein, on the other hand, helps build and maintain muscles. The reason this is important is because the more muscle mass you have, the more efficient your body burns fat. So when losing weight, eating more protein than carbs is more beneficial. That doesn’t mean you have to cut carbs, such as the Adkins diet, just lower the quantities you eat. Also, lean meats are better. Chicken and fish is better than red meat. When eating red meat, find lean meats, such as 98% lean hamburger meat. Also, broiled or baked is better than fried.

  When working out, alternating muscle work outs with cardio is the best combination. Such as speed walking or running one day and doing squats/crunches/etc the next day. You don’t need a gym or expensive work out equipment to work out. This page has some suggestions. It’s important to eat some protein about an hour or two before working out, and protein no more than half an hour after working out. Make sure you’re properly hydrated and work out at your own pace. It’s not do or die if you’re not used to working out. It’s endurance, you have to build yourself up to work out very intensely. It’s also important to properly stretch the muscles you’re going to be using, both before and after your work out.

  So now that you have some basic information, here is my challenge. This is for everyone, not just people that need to lose weight…but for everyone who’s not living a healthy lifestyle.

  For the next two weeks, I challenge you to follow this plan. Eat 5 times a day, about every 2.5-3 hours. Drink mostly water instead of pop (soda), energy drinks, etc. Eat fresh foods in proper portions and eat more protein. Exercise for half an hour 4 times a week…or more if you’d like. In order to track some results, weigh yourself on the first day (early morning is actually the best time to do this…your weight fluctuates throughout the day). Take measurements of the waist, hips, thighs, and biceps. Record them, and set them aside for the next two weeks. Then write down everything you eat and drink every day, and be honest with yourself. If you’re not honest, it doesn’t do any good. At the end of two weeks, you will feel better and if you’re looking to lose weight, you should see results. After one week of Insanity, I lost 7 pounds and 1 inch in my waist. Below is a sample of meals for one day.
  
  Meal One
  Two eggs, scrambled (or cooked how you like, with no salt added)
  1 pc of wheat toast with peanut butter
  
  Meal Two
  3/4 C cooked whole wheat Cream of Wheat
  1/4 C soy, almond, or skim milk
  1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
  1 tbsp slivered almonds
  2 tbsp raisins
  Combine ingredients, heat

  Meal Three
  1 whole wheat pita pocket
  3oz deli roast beef (lean)
  sliced cherry tomatoes
  romaine lettuce
  Put ingredients inside pita pocket. May be combined with a small salad of dark greens with lemon juice or a light vinaigrette

  Meal Four
  1 cup plain yogurt, Greek yogurt preferred (admittedly, a somewhat acquired taste)
  1 diced apple
  1 tbsp copped walnuts
  Combine ingredients
  
  Meal Five
  1 serving chicken breast
  2 tbsp lemon juice
  1/2 tbsp olive oil
  2 tbsp paprika
  pepper
  iodized sea salt
  1 C cooked sliced carrots
  2 tsp honey
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, combine lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, pepper, and sea salt on chicken breast in oven safe dish. Cook for about 45 minutes. Steam carrots and combine with honey.

  Keep in mind, you can substitute these foods with others that are more desirable to you. Generally, cooked veggies are either 1/2 cup or a full cup for a serving size. Fruits are the same, but fruits naturally have more sugar than veggies. Meats can be substituted to whatever you want as well, as long as the portions are correct and lean. If you want, you can substitute two of the meals for protein shakes, such as meals 1 and 3.

  Also, remember that losing weight and being healthier in general is about changing your eating and exercise habits, and it’s a lifelong dedication. There’s nothing good in fried and processed foods other than it’s taste…but healthy foods are tasty too. If you have any questions, let me know. If I don’t have the answers, I will find them for you or point you in the right direction. Good luck!!!

  • 4:52 pm
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