Monthly Archives: March 2009

Change a Pattern… Lose the Fat

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A couple years ago, I put on 23 pounds during the winter months. I love watching college basketball, and I follow my favorite teams during conference play, March Madness and the NCAA championships. At the end of college basketball season, I get caught up in the NBA playoffs. To increase my enjoyment, my habit was to have a beer or two along with my favorite snacks. Also, because of a lingering cold, I got out of my usual routine of working out. So it’s no mystery to me why I gained the weight.

Shocked at what I saw on the bathroom scales, I returned to sensible eating and regular exercise, and 6 months later I had lost all the weight, and then some.

Last year, I vowed not to gain the weight back again. I maintained my regular exercise program, and I stayed away from beer and chips. Unfortunately I substituted red wine and mixed nuts. Yes, these foods are said to have positive health benefits, but they are rich in calories and I managed to gain 11 pounds. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I had to admit that I hadn’t broken my pattern at all.

What’s a habit? Most people don’t know that the behavior patterns we call habits are “hard-wired” in the cerebral cortex of the brain. If you do the same things over and over, dendrites from neurons related to the behavior will grow towards other specific neurons to make the connections needed to execute the behavior. This creates a neuronal pathway that makes the satisfying behavior automatic—a pattern. You no longer have to try to make it happen. It just feels right and you do it.

Habits, then, have a physical basis in the brain. This explains why they are so hard to break.

But people do change habits. They’re successful because they substitute an alternative behavior pattern that also satisfies the need, hopefully without the negative side effects. Repeating this pattern creates a new neuronal pathway. Once the new habit is ingrained, the new behavior pattern also becomes easy and automatic. If you don’t return to your old ways, over time the old pathway, like an unused highway, will eventually deteriorate from lack of use.

Knowing all this, I created a delicious substitute for my usual glass of wine. I simply squeezed a one-quarter segment of lime into a glass of cold club soda (soda water). This drink is healthy and has practically no calories. And it tastes great! For variety I would sometimes jazz it up a little with a fruit drink.

Instead of chips or nuts, I substituted fresh fruit: berries, cherries, grapes, pineapple segments, or orange slices. Occasionally I’d have half a bag of microwave low-fat popcorn or some baked chips with salsa.

This year, I felt the craving for wine and nuts, but I substituted my healthy snacks instead. It worked! By the time I got to March Madness, I automatically poured my lime concoction, which I enjoyed. I only gained a couple pounds, which I quickly lost as I increased my activity during the summer.

Remember: habits ARE hard to break, but you CAN do it. The key is to maintain your fitness habits while sticking with your alternative. The new pattern must be:
1. Nutritious and low in calories
2. Just as satisfying as the unhealthy habit

If an obsessed basketball fan like me can do it, so can you!

Dr. Coates is the author of “Thin from Within: Your Personality Guide to Weight Loss,” a unique personalized weight loss analysis powered by MindFrames, the world’s most accurate brain-based personality test. It’s available on Initforlife.com’s Weight Loss Central. GHF Members receive the Thin from Within report FREE of charge (a $14.95 value)!

By Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D

Don’t Hibernate! Some Ideas for Family Winter Outdoor Fun

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This winter season don’t let your family hibernate inside. Why not
put all that fresh snow to good use? Bundle everyone up and participate in some
fun activities the whole family will enjoy.

There are all kinds of ways for kids and parents to enjoy the outdoors
together in the winter. Along with the typical winter sports, there are also
games and creative projects that children really enjoy — and the exercise is
good for them too.

Here are some ideas from the experts at Wham-O to help get kids off the couch
and outside for interactive snow play this winter:

* Head for the sledding hill. Now with so many sledding options, the whole
family will have a blast whooshing down snow-covered hills. In fact, kids and
parents can ride together on the huge, double-walled Turbosaucer Snow Saucer. Or
cause a storm of excitement with the 43 inch SnowBoogie Thunder, a super-light,
shock absorbing foam sled with an ultra-fast SpeedSlick bottom, sure to produce
thunderous applause and crowd-pleasing cheers all winter long.

* Don’t leave the little tots in the “snow” dust. A Baby Sled is a
great way for parents to safely introduce their young toddlers to sledding,
while smaller sleds, such as the Sledz Racer Jr. and the Snowboogie Racer Jr.,
let younger kids hit the slopes by featuring lightweight foam designs to absorb
shocks and a Speedslick bottom for maximum fun.

* Build a cutting-edge snowman with a Snowman Kit. Kids can let their
imaginations run wild as they build a snowman sporting a Mohawk, earring, nose
rings and sunglasses. The Snowman Kit, which contains weather-tough plastic
components, also comes in a traditional version with a black top hat and scarf,
for a more classic-looking snowman.

* Build a classic snow fort — all you’ll need is snow. Create a big mound
and pack it down by stepping, jumping and even rolling on it. Once a solid,
round pile has been created, make a doorway and begin tunneling into the mound.
Continue to shovel snow out of the center and pack it on top. Once inside, use a
smaller shovel to make a space inside. You can cover the floor with a straw mat
and poke holes through the ceiling and sides to make skylights and windows. Snow
fort walls should be at least one foot thick.

For more information about WHAM-O’s outdoor products visit www.wham-o.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Get the most out of your abdominal workout

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There are so many people looking for the secrets to great abs. You see all the hype on TV infomercials. Companies peddling all types of equipment that will help you build rock hard abs and a miraculous mid section. Without spending tons of money or any money at all, I’ll discuss a simple and effective way of building great looking abs. It can be done at home or at your gym.

Now we all want defined, toned abdominal muscles. Mostly to look great. A lot of men strive for a 6 pack or close to it, while most women’s goal is for a tight toned mid section. Let me stress that besides the cosmetic reasons for having great looking adominals, having a firm and toned mid section has many other benefits. You’ll ease any extra stress a belly or extra weight puts on your back, improve your posture, increase your stamina and endurance because you are not carrying any extra weight and improve your self esteem. You’ll feel even better about yourself and what you have accomplished. Anyway, this is pretty basic knowledge, but it is good to reflect on why you want to have solid great looking abs.

To develop solid abs, you need to shed some excess body fat. This is accomplished by eating properly and consuming less calories each day than your body burns.

Secondly, your abdominals must be trained in accordance with proper resistance training. I’ll discuss Ab Crunches as an effective exercise to build your abs.

Ab crunches can be performed anywhere:

Starting Position:
Place your hands crossed on your chest and lie flat on the floor with your knees bent. By bending your knees you’re providing your lower back with support. You can also place your hands behind your head if you prefer, but this position often leads to poor posture and unnecessary strain on your neck. In other words, you also end up cheating by lifting yourself using your arms and neck rather than your abs.

Performing the Exercise:
Slowly raise yourself using your abs, with your lower back always pressed against the floor. Raising your lower back will put unnecessary stress on your back. There are many exercises specifically for your lower back and remember, the abdominals create the exercise. Following the same method, slowly lower yourself.

Sets:
Try 4 sets of 24 with a short rest in between. The great thing about abs is that they can be exercised every second day or on consecutive days depending on your time and workout schedule.

Variation:
Try the same procedure by raising your legs or when you want to work on your obliques. Most people forget about working the oblique muscles (your side stomach muscles). Lie on the floor the same way as for regular crunches and cross your legs over to begin the exercise. If this feels uncomfortable or difficult, you may want to try the exercise standing up.With a reasonable weight in one hand, slowly lower one side and then return to the starting position. Repeat the procedure on your other side.

These are just a few of the many ab exercises that you can perform almost anywhere.