No Weight Bench - Try an Exercise Band

Turned on the Golf Channel today and it was a show on Golf Fitness.

The show featured two guys, one showing the other how to use an exercise band.

I've seen these - briefly - on Exercise shows that I've channel-surfed past, and I've never thought they'd be of any use - pretty fiddly.

But some of the exercises shown had promise - especially if you don't have a weight bench with leg attachment, because with the exercise band you can exercise all the muscles in your legs, not just the major ones that the curl and extension do.

If you're going to buy an exercise band, buy a good one - they range in price from $20 to $40 (so an internet search tells me) - I'd say more expensive = better quality.

This website seems to have more sophisticated versions of bands than was shown on the Golf Chennel's site..
http://www.power-systems.com/s-338-exercise-bands.aspx?gclid=CPvtjubOlasCFQ9S7Aodvn_TXA

One of the exercises shown was with the guy standing on one leg, while the other legs is kicked - slowly - back and forth. This works on both balancing muscles and various leg muscles.

Another exercise was the "Monster Walk" - a bit of Frankenstein's monster leg action going. That looked kind of fun.

This is the kind of thing you could use one every couple of days to give your legs a pretty good workout.

Weight Watchers Members Lose Twice as Much Weight as Other Dieters

If you read the article below, the study only "compared" 772 overweight people - and in the UK, Australia and Germany - not the US, which has different issues.

I don't trust any study that only deals with 772 people.

Nevertheless...it's news I thought I'd share. If you're thinking of a pay-to-play program, Weight Watchers might be the way to go. But I can assure you that by using common sense and a gradual weight loss program that I advocate, you will also be successful.

Weight Watchers' approach to dieting seems to tighten the belt more than other approaches to weight loss, according to a new study published in the Lancet.

The new research, which was funded by Weight Watchers International but conducted by the U.K. Medical Research Council, compared 772 overweight and obese adults in Australia, Germany and the U.K. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 months of standard health care or a 12-month free membership to Weight Watchers.

"Our studies didn't compare different commercial weight-loss programs, but did test the general concept of whether the various schemes available might work better than the current standard care," Dr. Susan Jebb, lead author of the study, said during a presentation at the International Congress on Obesity. "Regardless of which commercial program people opt for, it's having a weekly weigh-in and support that seems to work. People are more likely to stick at it."

The study is not the first time the Weight Watchers regimen -- which is perhaps most famous for its points system -- has outperformed other strategies. In June, Weight Watchers topped the list of commercial diet plans ranked by U.S. News and World Reports.

In a May ranking by Consumer Reports, however, the weight-loss plan came in third. And those pounds have a price tag; charges can range up to $40 per month, depending on the plan customers choose.

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Still, the system, which typically includes weekly group meetings, weigh-ins, group discussion and behavioral counseling among its components, garners at least some degree of praise from many diet and nutrition experts.

"Everyone is going to lose some weight here because there is a calorie deficit," said Keith Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "But it's how you create it so people can comply to it that really makes a difference. People on Weight Watchers are probably more motivated to focus on long-term positive changes, and there's lots of peer encouragement."

"Blending sensible advice about diet and lifestyle with strong behavioral support, Weight Watchers, quite simply, works," said Dr. David Katz, founder of the Yale Prevention Center. "More attention to weight management in primary care is warranted. This study suggests that more attention can mean better outcomes."

In the most recent study, participants adhering to the Weight Watchers plan received the full range of services provided by the program, including access to Internet-based discussion boards and systems to monitor food intake and weight change, as well recipes and meal ideas. Those in the standard care group received weight loss advice and guidelines for treatment from their family physicians.

After 12 months, Weight Watchers participants lost an average of 11 pounds. Those who received standard care lost an average of 5 pounds.

Karen Miller-Kovach, Weight Watchers International's chief scientific officer, said that the study highlights Weight Watchers benefits when complemented with usual primary care.

"Weight Watchers [patients] were able to be much more engaged and benefited from the intense support the weekly meetings provided and made them feel more accountable for their weight loss efforts," said Miller-Kovach. "This reinforces the importance of group support for long-term behavioral change and sustainable weight loss."

Weight Watchers is a nutrition points-driven plan within a group support system that is meant to create healthy eating habits while encouraging exercise.

Katz noted that the better success rate in a group-based program highlights an issue that is often overlooked.

Weight control is not really a 'clinical' issue," said Katz. "It plays out in parks and playgrounds, offices and schools, kitchens and cafeterias. While clinicians can, and should, be part of the solution, we can never be more than part of the solution."

And while no food is off-limits, a points system for foods allows a person to maintain portion control.

"Weight Watchers sort of decriminalizes eating," said Ayoob. "It teaches how to play the hand you're dealt with in terms of weight and body image. And that seems to work for people."

About 1 billion people worldwide are overweight, and 300 million are obese, according to the World Health Organization. To solve the problem, nutrition experts note, even small incremental weight loss can dramatically change the landscape of the obesity epidemic, and the public health outcomes that come along with excessive weight.

Even National Geographic is getting into the act

Just received the September issue of National Geographic - it's got a man "flying" on the cover, and other articles are:

--Saving Orphan Elephants
--Forever Wild in the Adirondacks
--Girl Power in Brazil
--The Race to the South Pole
--Lords of the Sahara

There's also a section called "Next" which doesn't seem to deal much with geography. It has:
-Researchers seek the weak spots in a home's defenses (against fire)
-Fitness Beat
-ELegs (a wearable robot that may help paraplegics walk. And this is pretty cool, by the way.)

Anyway, Fitness Beat.

It's a one page article that talks about how music helps people get through their workouts. "Music is a driving force, songs can make adrenaline surge\."

And I agree with that - many's the hill I've fought to get up with the help of the transcendant themes from The Rock or Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Pacing is also the key," says the sports psychologist consulted for this article, Costas Karageorghis.

The fact that music helps you work out is probably not news to you - who among us doesn't put in the earbuds when we go for walks or jogs (or in my case, biking). But try music when you're doing your weight training, as well. (And no, you don't need to do 30 minutes worth of weight training. 15 minutes of targeted training will be just fine.)

Welcome new readers

Noticed I've got quite a few new subscribers, so thought I'd greet you with my advice to all people who are at the starting point in their journey to lose weight

If you're just now starting on your weight loss program, the first thing to do is start a journal, in which you will record what you eat, when you eat it, and why. Also, when you exercise, and how you feel before and after you do your exercises.

Some people like to keep extensive journals, others just want to make minimum notes. Regardless of whether you're a maximalist or a minimalist, you must keep a journal.

A journal serves many purposes. It is a memory aid. If you run a mile in 6 minutes now, think how proud you'd be to look back in your journal and see when you first started jogging that you couldn't even run a block.

If you're taking medication for some illness, it can track mood swings or altered behavior because of that medication, or even side effects. (My mom has congestive heart failure, the result of not having taken her high blood pressure medication for 20 years. A few weeks ago, one of her pill dosages was changed. Immediately after that, she started having balance problems and needed to use a cane. Now, this was a clear case of something being wrong with that medication, but what if her balance-deterioration had taken place over the course of several months? With a journal, recording one's physical and mental well-being each day, it still would have been possible to track back and see when it all started, and have that medication adjusted.

Therefore, I cannot emphasize enough, start keeping a journal.

Is Losing 3 pounds in 2 weeks unacceptable?

No!

That's losing an average of 5 pounds a month, or 60 pounds a year...and done so gradually that it should be possible to keep it off.

If you're eating and exercising sensibly.

The reason I bring this up is because this guy, whose blog I read on a daily basis, mentioned this today and was all upset about it.

He said:

"I also weighed myself and this round of weight loss has been the slowest and most difficult ever. Yes, I lost three more pounds and am now in my 170s but three pounds in almost two weeks is ridiculous."

Now, in the first place this guy is 60 years old. And once you get into your 60s, it just takes weight longer to come off. (He does jog, 4 miles a day.)

In the second place, note the phrase, "this round of weight loss has been the slowest and most difficult ever."

What that means is that he goes on diets periodically, loses weight...and then gains it all back.

Why? Because when he's dieting, like now, he's only eating one meal a day!!!!

And that's another reason why it's taking him so long to lose weight. His body is in starvation mode, it's trying to conserve as much fat as possible by slowing down its metabolism.

So when this guy finally does come off this ridiculous diet, and starts eating "normally" again - not over eating, just eating normally - the weight is going to glom back on, because his body will have adjusted itself to the starvation diet, and when it starts getting more food, will immediately store it as fat with a shout of joy.

That's why its very foolish to try starvation dieting. It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but you will actually lose weight faster if you eat 2,000 calories a day rather than 1,500 or 1,000. And it's a helluva lot easier to eat 2,000 calories a day than 1,500 and especially 1,000.

And because your body has not had to adjust - metablosm wise - for this 2,000 calorie a day regime, it will not go crazy when you increase your intake to 2,500 - and that's what you want.

What Kind of Exercise is Best?

I turned on the TV this morning and found myself looking at an infomercial for "The Firm" - a videotape that shows you how to exercise using weights, with what looked like a little cardio kickboxing thrown in, but also a lot of contortions that looked to me like they'd do more to cause back injury than anything else.

Just what kind of exercise should you do?

Well, it has to be fun exercise, so that you'll want to do it at least three times a week, without having to force yourself. It should also be exercise that is not going to cause joint or tendon damage.

What I suggest - and you should see if this works for you - is weight training three times a week - and that will only take ten minutes! - and then endulging in some kind of sport or other physical activity - from walking briskly (easier on the knees than) jogging or biking (my own recommendation) to playing tennis.

Standing in front of a TV for 20-30 minutes mimicking what some extremely cheerful man or woman is doing? Not necessary. But if that seems fun to you - go for it!

Check out the upper and lower body cycle

I got this for my mom, who is mobility impaired. Walgreens carries it. It's a Gold's Gym Upper and Lower Body Cycle.

Basically it's for people who can't move very well, but who still need to keep strength in their arms and legs.

You set it on the floor, sit in a chair, and use it in a bicycle motion. Unfortunately, my mom can't use this feature, as her arthritis prevents her from lifting her feet even 4 inches off the ground without pain!

But she can still use it as an arm cycle. You put it on your table, and "pedal" with your arms. You can set the tension to whatever you desire, and can get a pretty good workout.

This is particularly important for the elderly who can't move to well except with a walker. Using this upper and lower body cycle keeps them (and eventually, will us!) and keeps their muscles toned.

Banned those flabby widow's weeds under arms! Keep your legs moving! Use a Upper and lower body cycle.