Run Through The Cold

During the holiday season, Americans tend to gain substantial amounts of weight. " Holiday" weight gain can be the result of many things. One factor is poor nutrition. It seems that everyone has 4 holiday parties to go to a night, despite their own family festivities, which are full of sweets, rich food, and alcohol.

Another factor for this seasonal weight gain is due to a decrease in activity. When the weather is brutally cold (or just not comfortable), people tend to stay inside more. This means that the seasonal outdoor athlete isn't engaging in any activity. The runner who trains when it's nice outside is now hibernating! When pairing an unhealthy diet with a lack in physical activity, the result is unhealthy weight gain and a decrease in metabolism.

One way to prevent weight gain and (most importantly) stay fit, is to keep the fitness consistent. Running outside actually isn't that bad once you are moving. If you are the type of person to wake up and go for a run before work, don't let the weather hold you back. Here are some great articles to help you keep the momentum going.

warming up and cooling down

managing the run in the cold

strategy

Good Luck!

The Government Wants You To Get Fat!

Hello All!

Often I find myself wondering about the roll the government plays in the food that we eat. This article from the NY Times helps me understand it just a little bit more. I try not to incorporate politics into the Priority Fitness blog, but when it effects our health and well being, something has to be said.

It's a shame when the government puts more energy into protecting itself and its entities than actually helping the public. In this article from the Times, you will read about how "Dairy Management" (a creation of the United States Department of Agriculture) is supporting Domino's Pizza by paying $12 million in a new marketing campaign. Unfortunately that campaign is about the 40% increase of full-fat cheese on their pizza. This is the same slice of pizza that already covers two thirds of your daily recommended allowance of saturated fat (which when overeaten is linked to heart disease). Isn't it ironic that the same government organization that claims to "fight" heart disease is also supporting some of the leading causes?

Here is your article to read!

How To Weigh Calories

There is a lot more to weight loss than just counting calories. The standard concept of maintaining a daily deficit of calories ingested vs calories expended is currently being challenged. An article from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11650986) focuses on other factors to keep in mind while trying to lose weight.

Certain components of food such as fiber and protein require the body to expend more energy during digestion. This process results in a higher net calorie expenditure (when compared to food of equal calories with less protein and fiber). A higher net calorie expenditure, in this case, means that your body burns more calories digesting food with protein and fiber when compared to food of equal calories that lack both protein and fiber. If you burn more calories digesting certain foods, you may end up with a larger calorie deficit. The greater the calorie deficit, the more weight you lose. If you eat at a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories for a week, the total loss will be 3500 calories, which is worth 1 pound of fat. Is it now possible to choose your food based on how many calories of energy it takes to digest?

Besides picking certain foods, another factor is chewing! The more you chew, the more energy you expend. Give your body a workout to digest food! Even though the calories required to chew are minimal, it still is a factor.

So, the debate of traditional calorie counting vs choosing high quality foods ends like this- “You can gain weight over eating healthy food. You can also hinder your metabolism and really hurt yourself if you only chose to eat foods based on the amount of calories they contain”. I just quoted myself....

If you eat with a “calorie conscious” attitude and pay attention to sensible portion sizes, you’re going to be A-OK.

How To Push Past The Pain

The article (linked below) in the NY Times focuses on elite athletes. It goes into depth about the physical (muscle) pain that must be endured during training and competition in order to succeed in competitive sports. The most significant point in the article is that these elite athletes are not exempt from the excruciating pain of hard physical training: they simply learn to accept this feeling. They understand that training under grueling conditions is just a step forward in the path to success. Pain is no longer an indication to rest, rather it is a feeling that actually triggers athletes to work harder.

NY Times Article

The act of working harder when feeling pain draws the line between most people who see results and most who don’t. This “pain” also refers to emotional discomfort as well as the muscular toll of either a strict training or dieting regimen. It’s extremely difficult to be challenged yet still maintain enough discipline to overcome what’s in the way.

If you want to reach a goal or be in shape it helps to accept that it is going to be really hard! Allowing yourself to endure pain (whether it be mental or physical) will prevent that first instinct to give up when something becomes difficult. If you really think about goals, isn’t the whole point of it to challenge yourself? When someone loses 100lbs or runs their first marathon, are they going to say it was easy? I doubt it! And that’s ok. It separates the strong from the weak. It explains why the percentage of marathon runners and successful dieters in the world are the minority. But that doesn’t mean that who ever is in the “majority” is stuck there.

So, the next time you decide to embark on a new challenge, ask yourself- “Are you ready for this? Are you ready to do something that is going to be hard, yet still keep on pushing?”

Perhaps understanding what a challenge consist of is will help prepare you.

Fantastic quote from the article

“Can you train yourself to run, cycle, swim or do another sport at the edge of your body’s limits, or is that something that a few are born with, part of what makes them elites?
Sports doctors who have looked into the question say that, at the very least, most people could do a lot better if they knew what it took to do their best.”

Lose Weight To Actually Keep It Off.... Crazy!!

"Slow and steady wins the race" in the battle of the Tortoise and Hare. The tortoise wins because, clinically speaking, the hare burns too much muscle mass during his poorly fueled sprint. He burns himself out while the tortoise methodically takes steps forward by racing at a speed that is realistic for him. This children’s story, through the eyes of a creative (or twisted) personal trainer, can offer dieters wisdom in how they approach their own weight loss program.

An Article for "Runners" To Lose Weight Slowly

I posted a link to the article above because it stands out amongst others due to the comparison made between a "dieter's" strategy to lose weight and a "runner's" strategy to lose weight. The "dieter's" weight loss goal is to drop pounds fast and focus on short-term goals. This method is much like the hare’s: impatient and hasty. However, like the tortoise, the "runner's" idea of losing weight is to drop pounds slowly and then focus on a "postloss plan". Postloss plans are simple. The main requirement is to be aware of what you are doing to your body. Too frequently do I see people reach their goal and then unfortunately let their guard down to the point where they take steps backwards.

Very seldomly do I read a weight loss article that focuses on long-term goals and how to maintain a goal once it is reached. It is important to demystify fad/speed diets because research shows that the majority of dieters are yo-yo dieters who reach their short-term goals by engaging in some sort of drastic behavior and then gain it right back! Anyone can lose weight, but few can keep it off. Although most people on a weight loss plan hope to see huge and rapid changes on the scale, losing weight slower and healthier will absolutely help keep weight off. The more realistic someone's lifestyle is while they lose weight, the easier it is to maintain weight loss.

The moral of the story is: if you are on a weight loss plan, you should consider if your priority is to lose a lot of weight very quickly, or to be patient like the tortoise and win the race in the end.

It's Great To Be Back!

Hello all!

The Priority Fitness blog is back! Thanks for making it through the rest of the Summer without us!

I wanted to make sure that our first blog of the season is posted before October is over for a few important reasons. The first reason is that the NYC Marathon is creeping up and there are very important tips that we plan on sharing in the near future. The second reason, which we shall dive into right now, is the significance of October and your long term training routines.

October is the silence before the big storm. You may be asking "what storm?", NY just had a horrendous storm two days ago! Well, that's a valid question... The storm I'm referring to is the "Holiday Storm"- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, New Years, etc. These are the holidays where so many of us (well, hopefully not us) eat and drink whatever we want, yet constantly rationalize our actions by saying "this is all going to stop at New Years!" and then gain 7-10 pounds... What a toll that puts on our bodies! To top it off, a lot of us follow this cycle but then do not even lose all of the weight later in the year. If you are trying to pack on pounds progressively through out the years, you have found the secret.

But why not avoid the unnecessary weight gain? Wouldn't it feel great to actually start the Spring season already in shape? It's very possible. For most of us, it just means to keep on doing what we are doing. If we are already working out, keep it up. The key to not getting sidetracked is to write out weekly plans for your workouts through out the holiday season. This will put so much in perspective. It will be the difference between skipping a workout to eat leftovers and going our for a long run. The key is to keep your workouts a priority and to not let the holiday meals and parties consume you (even though we are probably the ones who would be doing most of the consuming). If you want to, or are already working out 4-5 times a week, write down the days you want to do it during the holidays. Just because Thanksgiving weekend lasts 4 days, it doesn't mean that you need to skip 4 days of exercising. You can even plan to run a Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving, which is a great way to fire up your metabolism for the rest of the day.

Practicing your Fall/Winter workout routine now will be a great experience for you to perfect it when the Holiday Storm hits.

Gonna Make You Sweat!

Many thanks to OVERFLOW Magazine, a fantastic local South Brooklyn magazine, for collaborating on a new Fitness article. Feel free to check out the magazine around town and click the link to read the article. Enjoy!

Gonna Make You Sweat in Park Slope – A Priority

OVERFLOW