In this week’s episode, you will learn what it means to be an intuitive eater. Glenn clears out the clutter and explains the categories of weight loss strategies such as cleanses, fasts, diets, and workouts.
Health News You Can use
Exercise in Schools
In 2012 the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention found that less than 25% of children aged 12 – 15 achieved the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
A new study finds that most of the activity kids get is at school. A recent study published in Pediatrics found that 42% of an adolescent’s physical activity takes place in school. This makes sense as they spend most of their waking time there. It also showed the second highest level of activity when they were away from home and most sedentary at home.
The take home here is, children who are most active have places to go and things to do outside of the home and school. This can be parks, playgrounds, greenbelts, and other natural areas. Being involved in an athletic activity is another great way to increase their fitness.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Last December, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act to replace No Child Left Behind. This act will bring more funding to our K-12 schools to reorganize the scholastic focus to a well-rounded curriculum and emphasize physical education.
This is important to me because of the growing obesity problem and dwindling health and fitness of the nation. The act gives value to health and fitness and will encourage, develop and improve the skills of our citizens. This act takes a huge step in improving the health and fitness industry and the lives of Americans.
Resistance Training for Obese Teens
From the “resistance training is good for everyone” file, a new study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that resistance training is beneficial for obese teens.
In a 12 week study of nondiabetic people with a mean age of 14, they found significant improvement in: body fat, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, endothelial function (blood vessels), hemodynamics, metabolic profiles and overall fitness.
Links from This Episode
- Live Fit America – Help Those That Need Help With Health (but can’t afford it.)
- Tons of Fun ~ for a Cause
Getting Ready for Summer?
No Need to Panic.
Season’s change, and here we are in Spring. Already.
Did it take you by surprise?
As the weather warms up people will be spending more time outside wearing less clothing. A swim suite might even be in your future. How does that make you feel? Good, I hope. But, that is not always the case. Many people feel panicked at the thought of wearing a swim suit in a few months (or less). There may be a little winter fluff they’d like to get rid of first.
Social media is blooming with tips and tricks and hacks and programs and diets to help you get slim for summer.
- There are cleanses, detoxes, diets, smoothies, juices, shakes…
- There are workout programs for your butt, your thighs, your belly…
- There is advice to eliminate: grains, gluten, sugar, alcohol, meat, etc.
- And there are the “do this one thing” tips that sound so appealing.
I am not going to disparage these techniques. If it works for you, I think that is great.
But, it seems that everybody has advice for you on how to slim down for summer. Heck, even me. I have programs, health coaching, and well, I’m talking to you right now about ways you can slim down.
However, I’m not going to try and sell you a program (today). This is not a sales pitch, or a webinar. I want to help you find what’s right for you.
To do this, I’m going to go over the basic categories of weight loss techniques most people are using.
I like cleanses as an occasional way to reset the system. They are a good way to clean your palette, your thought process about food and build a little confidence that you are not owned by food.
I also like fasts for the same reason. I used to fast for 24 hours seasonally. I did this because I felt the need. I would find myself growing less and less satisfied with food and eating more and more trying to find that satisfaction. Until finally I’d hit my breaking point and just go without all Calories and consume nothing but water or herbal tea for 24 hours. I’d start after dinner on one day and not eat until the same time the next day. Then I’d eat a light breakfast. It’s important to not eat big, heavy or dumb food. Pizza is a very bad idea. I’ve learned that the hard way.
There are as many weight loss diets on this planet as there are grains of sand. Which one is right? That’s not the right question. “Which one is right for you, right now?”, is more like it.
Most of them will work, if followed. But if you go on a diet, you will always go off it at some point. Then the lost weight is found again and it usually brings a few friends.
My advice to you if you want to follow a diet is to use it for a short period of time as an attitude adjustment, similar to a cleanse or a fast. A diet is not the solution, but it can be a helpful tool.
I’m not going to poo-poo the value in avoiding certain unhealthy ingestibles such as artificial sweeteners, sugar, and processed starches, etc. But, I don’t want anyone taking my words too far and developing orthorexia. I avoid sugar, as much as I reasonably can. I get most of my sugar from fruit, but I have ice cream now and then too. And sometimes I’m sorry afterward because it makes me feel “ick”. Other times, I’m content and satisfied. As long as I don’t make this a habit, there is no harm.
If you find a food or drink that does not agree with your body, then I do recommend eliminating it from your diet. You will have to listen to your body here, not your emotions. If you know a food is bad for your body, consider giving it up – at least for a few weeks to see how your body feels.
Some people are allergic to gluten. They should not eat it no matter how delicious it is. Just like diabetics should not eat sugar. But we are humans and we will succumb to emotions and desires, from time to time. So, take the foods you know are bad from you off of your menu and forget about them.
Another technique is to add in all the foods you need for optimal nutrition. When you do that, there might not be room for the junk. Or at the very least, there won’t be as much room for it.
Let’s shift our focus to physical activity now.
Pretty much anything you do that is more than you are used to doing is going to be good for your body. If you like walking, and will walk, do it. But push yourself a little harder, faster, or farther than last week.
If you like working out to a home video, do it. If you like going to the gym, do it. But challenge yourself to do it better, bigger, harder, faster, stronger, etc. This is how you tell your body to get better.
If you don’t like to do anything, do something anyway. Your body will still benefit. Granted, your mind will try to stop you, so some sort of enjoyment, challenge, or comradery will make it all easier and more effective.
What this all comes down to is being intuitive with your eating and physical activity.
I am an intuitive eater and exerciser. If I’m hungry, I eat. It’s funny because sometimes I’ll ask my wife if she wants lunch. She’ll automatically ask me what time it is. I’ll say, I don’t know, but I’m hungry, so I’m eating.
If I’m not, I don’t – unless I know I’m going to be in a situation where I won’t be able to eat for a long period of time. I will also eat if it’s been more than four hours and my last meal was not Thanksgiving. I will force myself to eat good nutrients even if I’m not hungry because food is, after all, fuel.
Plus, sometimes I simply don’t want to eat because I’m busy, or have no appetite. So, I’ll have a protein shake or some other quick and wholesome food. This is not for the “me” in my head. It is for the me below the shoulders.
All the diets and workout programs and personal trainers in the world won’t give you the body you want, for life. You need to know what your body wants. Not your mind. Not your emotions. Food is fuel.
Your body needs nutrients: macro nutrients – protein, carbohydrates, fats, oxygen and water. It also needs micro nutrients – vitamins and minerals. Learning to listen to your body will allow you to give your body what it wants, or needs and only what it needs. The trick is to stop listening to your mind.
Yes, I know I just said that I will eat when I’m not hungry at times because I know I need nutrients. This comes from years of listening to my body and knowing what happens if I don’t give it what it needs.
Here is an example, and I get scoffed at a lot from people who want to make me wrong, but if I have a desire for ice cream and eating it would not make sense at the time, I will stop and dissect what it is my body really wants. What are the components of ice cream: wet, cold, sweet, calcium, protein, maybe chocolate, etc.?
First off, let’s see if I want wet or cold by drinking a glass of cold water. If after 5 minutes, I don’t want the ice cream as strongly, then I may have found what I really needed.
Yet, if that wasn’t it, I might eat an orange, apple or even a teaspoon of sugar to see if what my body wanted was sugar. Or I wanted to chew something. I may also just be bored and I wanted to do something.
If after trying a cold glass of water and some fruit I still want ice cream, then I go ahead and have it. What’s the harm? Plus, since I have a glass of water and a piece of fruit in my belly, I’m not very hungry and the portion of ice cream I eat is much smaller than it would have been.
The point is, do what you can to dissect what your body really desires. What it needs, and separate it from what your emotions want.
It is always a good idea to drink a glass of water before eating anything. This will fill you up and maybe even keep you from eating. But if not, no harm either. People will often eat when all they really needed is water.
Eating intuitively is one of the things I work on with clients in my coaching programs. You can change your mindset from being a slave to your food to the other way around. Let your food nourish you.
I also exercise intuitively.
I’m physically active every day. But, I don’t have a routine I follow. I do what I feel I need. This may be a run, bike ride or walk, or it might be pushups or a heavy gym workout or maybe even yoga. It really depends and it varies. But, I do something every day or my body screams obscenities at me. And that ain’t pretty.
Give your body what it needs. Give it what it wants, and then notice how you feel. If you eat a donut, how do you feel afterwards? If you eat a healthy salad or some other healthy food, how do you feel afterward? Simply notice. You might want to take notes to help you notice and remember.
So, this spring, you can go on a diet, use a cleanse or sign up for health coaching with me. Regardless of what you do, please do so consciously. Be aware of your body and how it feels with all the different things you do and give your body what it needs.
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