WHAT (OR WHO) SHOULD YOU REALLY BE “FED UP” WITH?

 HISTORY OF FOOD IN AMERICA AND WHY YOUR HEALTH WAS NEVER ON THE GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA. (AND WHY IT IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE. UNLESS……)

          ________________________________________________________________
By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

Probably like many professionals who work in the field of nutrition and health I was impatiently awaiting the release of the much talked about movie "Fed Up". And, as it oftentimes happens, I was pleasantly surprised by some important and critical points that the movie brought up, but that had never been talked about before (at least not in the main media), while at the same time disappointed by so many issues that didn't even get mentioned or got somewhat twisted around.
Let me explain......

First, I have to admit that I originally felt compelled to do what many critics do: talk about the pluses and minuses of the movie. But then I read a few blog posts from nutritionists and various writers from the world of health (trainers, fat loss specialists, bloggers, etc.) and it made me rethink what I really wanted to talk about.

For the sake of clarity though, and as a springboard to our discussion, I am going to mention a few important points that, I think, the movie got right, and a few crucial ones that it missed completely. 

1. "A CALORIE IS A CALORIE". Not.

When it comes to calories we were finally told that a notion of "a calorie is a calorie" is completely false - a HUGE kudos for the movie.      

In simpler terms, when subjected to the same 300 calories coming from a very different source (for example, processed and therefore very easily digestible food like a soda drink versus a whole food like vegetable or fruit containing fiber) the body behaves completely differently than we previously thought. That's why a person who eats the same amount of calories from a diet of processed foods will have a much higher chance of becoming overweight or obese over time than a person eating a diet of whole foods. The 300 calories from processed food not only get almost completely absorbed since the body doesn't have to do any work to break it down, but they also cause an entirely different hormonal cascade than whole food. [The hormonal responses to food (a very broad subject) are far beyond the scope of this article due to their complexity.] But apart from the varied hormonal response between processed and whole foods, an important, and rather simple, fact to mention is the law of thermogenesis. It takes the body more calories and effort to deal with whole foods than something highly processed, simply because it has to do all the job of breaking it down to smaller particles, digesting it and then assimilating and absorbing nutrients. So while all 100 calories in Coke will get straight into your system (and your hips), only a part of 100 calories from protein like chicken breast or a vegetable like broccoli will, simply due to the calories it takes your body to "deal with" it. Protein has the highest thermogenesis effect of all foods since about 30% gets "lost" in the process of digestion. Taking the above chicken breast as an example, only about 70 of the 100 total calories would actually get absorbed. (I would highly recommend not taking this fact as an incentive to eat more protein just because you are not absorbing all of it. That's the way scientific facts usually get misunderstood when humans want to interpret them to fit their own needs.) J So, CALORIE IS NOT A CALORIE - we finally  got that.   
    

2. THE ISSUE OF CALORIE BALANCE.

So, as much as sugar is to blame for a lot of our obesity and metabolic problems, it is NOT the only villain and it is NOT entirely true that total calories don't matter. Unfortunately, they do. I can attest to that with my 20+ years of experience as a trainer, holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach. And while my first goal with clients has always been teaching them to eat whole foods rather than count calories, when it comes to weight loss (in most cases) one has to look at overall calories as well. There is just no way around it, especially when dealing with people who have no, or limited, nutritional knowledge. Learning about portion sizes and portion control and how many calories certain foods contain is still an important part of nutrition education, at least at the beginning of the process. And this becomes especially important with restaurants portions currently being as oversized as they are.

Interestingly, it is also later on in the process, when clients want to lose the infamous "last 10 pounds" and get really lean, that we are often forced  to look at this issue again. At that point, it often really IS about the calories in versus calories out and various necessary calculations, since then we are dealing with the necessity to create a very subtle (to prevent muscle loss and under-eating), but specific calorie deficit to cause not only weight loss but, more importantly, fat loss. So while I do think that we as humans (it's not only Americans anymore) eat way TOO MANY CARBOHYDRATES (just for the record, I am not paleo or anti-carb!), and SUGAR ESPECIALLY is a huge problem, it is NOT the only one. We eat TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING.

And although it is not really true that you will gain 100 pounds over 5 years eating one 200-calorie cookie every day, (that's what a simple arithmetic would have you believe) simply because your body just doesn't work this way and has many different mechanisms to keep itself in check, how many calories we eat in total still matters and that will never change. Can I eat more vegetables and fruit than chips and soda without gaining weight? Probably. A lot more? Not really, if you're looking strictly at equal amounts of calories (most people simply wouldn't be able to do so anyway because of the volume created by extra fiber). So, an important point here that was missed by the movie, in my opinion, is that TOTAL CALORIES STILL DO MATTER. The so called "energy balance" is difficult for many people to understand and implement in their daily life, but it is not impossible. It requires knowledge, consistency, a strong resolve and patience. And that's where the movie gets it wrong.

3. SUGAR MAKES PEOPLE TIRED AND LAZY.

The issue of BEING TIRED AND LACKING ENERGY TO EXERCISE AND EAT WELL due to the EFFCTS OF SUGAR ON OUR HORMONAL SYSTEM is portrayed correctly (thank you Dr. Robert Lustig), but makes too general of a statement, in my opinion, by excusing people from exercise and healthy lifestyle habits. Unhealthy lifestyle habits, lack of energy and lack of exercise are the results of many factors, NOT just too much sugar. It is unfortunately also a fact that some people simply do not wish to eat better or exercise because it puts too much responsibility on SELF. And that's not comfortable.

 4. THE QUESTION OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.      

 And this brings me to an important point and closer to what I wanted to talk about in the first place - the movie seems to absolve us all of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. This is something I have a real issue with. When it comes to food, like many other things in life, we almost always have a choice. Sometimes it might not be the best choice, but it is still a choice between better or worse. And trust me, I am far from talking about perfection here. The movie seems to convey an overwhelming message that we are powerless; powerless against the food industry, big corporations, and fast food manufacturers in particular. So my question to you is this: When did you ever lose that power? Who took it away from you? Who told you to buy junk food when you can go to the farmers market and get healthier food instead? Yes, I know cost* is an issue, but I think a bigger issue is that you want convenience, you don't want to cook, you don't want to be bothered and want a quick solution and it's just too much effort to be healthy. And yes, I am talking to YOU! I always loved the saying that "if you don't spend time and money on your health now, you will spend it later on illness". There is so much truth to this. How often do you ever think about it this way? Why are humans so short-sighted? When I talk to my clients about their goals I always remind them that they have a choice. What they do every day, how they plan their day, when and what they eat, who they keep as their role models and who they socialize with, all those factors are entirely in their control. I often get strange looks when I say this as if it was some huge surprise. But the truth is, you do have a choice. The question is: how important is that choice for you? And what are you willing to do to make that choice and reach your goals? So, if you care about health at all, maybe that's where the whole discussion needs to start. YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE AND YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - the movie misses this point entirely. Worse, it makes us think we have no say in what we buy and what we eat.  

*A quick digression on the cost of healthy food.......I find it amazing that it is often the most well to do people who shiver at the idea of spending more money on healthier and slightly more expensive food choices while they have no problem driving around in their Bentleys and owning multiple homes. Maybe we have our priorities upside down? Or maybe we just prefer to spread our oversized cheap-food-fed bodies in luxury cars while driving to multiple doctors' appointments for more medications to control our various ailments, most easily preventable, if those priorities were in the right place to begin with? And don't get me wrong, I do feel for those that are on very tight budgets and have to try to save anyway they can. I feel enraged that in a country as advanced as America we seem to be incapable of making sure that people have good AND HEALTHY food to put on their tables at a reasonable cost , and that so many people go hungry.  But for most of us, it IS about priorities.

5.  THE FOOD INDUSTRY'S MISGUIDED AGENDA

Now let's get back to the title of my article and talk about the history of food in America. It is only since the industrial revolution that food supply has slowly become so adulterated, but much more so in the last 30-40 years. Due to post-war shortages the emphasis was on producing cheap food in large quantities. The fifties and sixties were all about convenience and cutting cost, not about quality, and advertising stressed how easy your days and meals would be if only you "dined" at McDonald's and ate canned and frozen food at home on a daily basis. But many families still cooked meals at home and what manufacturers put into food was actually food to a big degree (strange as it may sound). But with time and growth of food corporations, which were quickly becoming financial giants, (as well as advancements in technology), there was an ALL-OUT DRIVE FOR PROFIT. And the best way to increase it was to decrease the quality of food, put more junk, preservatives and chemicals into it, and process it more, so the shelf life would be extended forever and ever. No loss, all gain. Or was it? It was loss for American citizens, gain for corporations and their ridiculously high compensated CEOs. But long-term loss for citizens unfortunately most often becomes a loss for governments. We are paying dearly as a country for what we have done to our health: the sky- rocketing cost of healthcare, the ever increasing epidemic of obesity and other serious diseases, the future of our kids and our nation.

So......is it really a loss? Wait......it's another gain! Now with the above problems we have created.......

6. .......a HUGE PROFIT FOR THE DRUG INDUSTRY. And it's doing well. Really well. And we are quietly (and not so quietly) contributing. Yes, you and me, unless we decide to do something about it. As our country's health gets worse, we will only be more and more dependent on various medications. That's heaven for the drug industry. We have just single-handedly secured their financial future. And we have only ourselves to thank for it.

7. IS GOVERNMENT REALLY ON YOUR SIDE?

So first it looked like it was a loss for governments, too. (I am using plural here since it is quickly becoming not only an American problem). Our government talks about the cost of healthcare. They talk about disease. You think they really care about your health? Think again.

And here I am finally coming to the main point I wanted to make after seeing the movie (yes, finally). :)

No matter how one looks at it, in the end it all comes down to money. Money that is accepted by politicians from interested lobbying groups/corporations to secure their successful elections and positions they so dearly want to keep. Unless we get rid of the lobbying system in this country, nothing is ever going to change because money speaks louder than anything. I would go as far as saying that the country where lobbyists are allowed to contribute to politics is not truly a democratic one. Everything and everyone can be bought and sold. No exceptions.

Here's a smart quote from President Johnson's State of the Union address in 1906. There is no more appropriate time in history than now to take this advice seriously.

"I again recommend a law prohibiting all corporations from contributing to the campaign  expenses of any party. (....) Let individuals contribute as they desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or indirectly."

So, let's break it down a little by looking at who really controls our food system.......

8. WHO SHOULD YOU REALLY BE FED UP WITH?

A few simple facts:

It is no secret that the all-powerful food and drug industry lobbyists have huge influence on government (and not only) policies and guidelines. The movie gives many examples of how far and deep reaching this influence really is; how much good research gets silenced, including that of seemingly independent organizations like WHO (World Health Organization). This particular example should have everyone roaring in disbelief and outrage. Their conclusion on the necessity to limit sugar consumption worldwide to 6-9 teaspoons per day never got published in their new guidelines due to the threat from the US representative (Bush administration) of withholding over 400 million dollars of financial support to the above organization. Hmmm.....Surprised? Don't be. This is how policies, at least in this country, (but not only) are made. MONEY CONTROLS EVERYTHING (politicians, more than anything, want to get re-elected and people in powerful positions want to hold on to them).

Organizations like A.N.D. (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - previously ADA) are hugely influenced by the biggest food corporations. Those actually provide continuing education courses for the A.N.D. members. (This is one of the reasons why I never wanted to become a Registered Dietitian or have anything to do with this organization.)

American Academy of Family Physicians, an institution supposed to promote health, partners with Coca-Cola and the like. Even a healthy "Let's Move" campaign, initiated by Michelle Obama, is sponsored by Nestle, General Mills and Kellogg. Seems crazy? Not so much. This is how things are done (or should I say: this is how nothing gets done).

USDA is responsible for both public health and promoting agriculture, which becomes a real oxymoron. It subsidizes crops like corn, driving down the cost of sugar. The result? Sugar has become one of the cheapest food commodities around. This only makes it easier to use sugar as one of the main ingredients in food production today. The movie even makes an accusation that this is the direct way the American government subsidizes obesity. I couldn't agree more.

People who used to work for the food corporations now work for the USDA and vice versa. The same goes for the FDA.

Misleading marketing campaigns are specifically geared towards kids, with no government oversight or regulations.

American schools are probably some of the worst and least healthy places to eat and they have no budget for better, healthier food. Who has the biggest say in how school budgets are made? And who stands to benefit from this oversight the most?

Most food research is funded by food companies - where is the neutrality necessary in real science? The movie shows some "experts" unabashedly trying to convince Congress and various committees that ketchup or French fries should count as a vegetable or that sodas can easily be a part of a healthy, balanced diet. Have we totally lost our minds??? How are these people even allowed to speak publicly and their opinions considered as anything short of ludicrous? (Well, I guess we have freedom of speech. Oops.)

Dubious scientific technologies are used to adulterate our food even more. When you have to involve scientists and chemists to figure out how to modify natural foods to make them more  palatable, and ADDICTIVE to humans, and what chemical substances need to be used to accomplish this, we have a problem. A huge problem.

I am a huge fan of modern technology, but I have always believed that when it comes to food it's not so smart to fool with Mother Nature. And why would we? Seems we always get it wrong in this regard. We can't outsmart her, as much as we try. When it comes to our food supply, there is something about the inherent wisdom of nature that no inventions will probably ever be able to improve upon. At least without the negative effect on human health. (And this is coming from a daughter of a scientist whose research gave the beginning to stem cells and cloning, and which I whole-heartedly support. So you know I am not against progress done right, as long as it is done with due respect to human health).

We, as a nation, have let others take over our food supply. We have let food giants control our taste buds and our brains. We have been putting money in the pockets of food corporations and their profit-hungry executives by eating out all the time, and eating cheap, bad quality food. We have given up buying fresh food and supporting our farmers, cooking family meals made from real whole foods, and helping the earth do what it does best - feeding us with its natural bounty.

So instead of blaming everybody else (and I am NOT defending food companies here - far from it!) maybe we should finally look at what part WE ourselves actually play in this whole scenario? What is OUR role in this? How much are WE contributing to the problem?

Maybe we could make an effort to get to the farmers market once or twice a week and buy some healthy produce that actually tastes like food? Maybe we could try to cook at home a few times a week, and involve our kids in the process to teach them the importance of cooking with whole foods? Maybe we could actually teach kids to eat adult real food? It's a complete fallacy that kids need "kid food". No country in the world has ever come up with something so stupid. Kids should be taught to eat everything when they are young so their taste buds are accustomed to normal foods instead of processed junk loaded with sugar. Maybe we should insist on nutrition education in schools early on (done by REAL nutritionists) so kids would acquire this much necessary knowledge early on? Maybe we should seek out restaurants that are committed to sustainable cooking by buying local foods and supporting local farmers in the process? Maybe we should support organic grocery markets that are trying to make a change? Maybe we should sign petitions to tell our politicians what we really think?

Maybe......maybe......maybe.....

But will we??? What does it take for us to understand that we are destroying the planet, destroying our health and that of our kids, while at the same time contributing to the plush lifestyles of those few we so love to hate? Wake up America! You always think you are so great. But, for the most part, you' re only good at talking. We need action, not talk, so do something, however small, to make a difference. Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be unpopular.

Others will join you. That's how big changes start. So get out there and buy fresh, natural food instead of sugar and junk leaden crap that doesn't even resemble food. JUST EAT REAL FOOD!!!

It's that simple. Vote for better food with your money. Make your voice heard. YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE.  MAKE THE RIGHT ONE.  And yes, I am talking to YOU!

 
To learn what you can do to help, please visit the "Fed Up" movie Take Action page at: http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/take-action
  

Los Angeles Personal Trainer Lists 33 Cures To Your Health Woes Found in the Kitchen -

If you are thinking about making a resolution to seek better health in 2012, and you are thinking of hiring a personal trainer to help direct you, be sure that the personal trainer you select is qualified to help you with all aspects of fitness, including the nutritional component.  Below are some guidelines that will help you make certain that your diet is helping, not hurting, your healthy living goals.

THE CURE IS IN THE KITCHEN

“LET NOTHING WHICH CAN BE TREATED BY DIET BE TREATED BY ANY OTHER MEANS”

                                                                   (Maimonides)

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter CPT, LWMC, HLC                                                          

We often forget that clean water and healthy food are not only the foundation of health but have more power than medicines to keep us healthy. But the quality of what we put into our bodies is also of prime importance. If you build a healthy foundation with simple things like nutrition and exercise, your body will thrive.

HEALTHY NUTRITION TIPS:

 1. The most important yet cheapest thing you can do for your body every day is drink good quality pure water, ideally with a ph of at least 7.0.

For the rest of the list of Healthy Nutritional Tips, go to this blog post.

WEIGHT LOSS - SMOOTH SAILING OR AN OBSTACLE COURSE - PART 2

Physical Reasons

(Continued from May 3^rd, 2011 post)

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WHY YOU ARE NOT LOSING WEIGHT AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

I have promised a while back to spend some time explaining how to get around the weight loss hurdles, and how to address specific reasons why you might not be losing weight. Some of you have been asking for more specific pointers and ideas for quite some time so I will devote the next few posts to this very subject. In this post I am going to start with the explanation of the most basic reasons for failure which, so often, is the source of frustrations for many.

PHYSICAL

1. You exercise too little

This is a very obvious one, yet so many people still can’t grasp the fact that it is NOT enough to follow the minimum daily guidelines for exercise, which is 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity activity, 5 days a week. Yes, if you have been sedentary for years and are totally out of shape, it’s a good start, but this amount is not enough, by itself, to start losing serious amounts of weight. I am going to be very cautious here and refrain from giving specific amount of exercise time recommendations, since all of you are different, eat a different diet, have different metabolism, daily activity level and lifestyle, as well as different conditions that might preclude you from intense or prolonged exercise. Your diet is still at least 80% of your weight loss success, but this does not mean exercise is not important. It is, and very much so. Keep in mind, however, that in order to lose 1 pound of body fat you will need to have a deficit of 3500 calories. An average person weighing 150 lbs burns about 150-200 or so calories during a 30-minute brisk walk (and I mean brisk! – at the speed of about 4 mph). Let’s call it a power walk to distinguish it from a leisurely stroll. If you walk 5 days a week, you will burn +/- 750-1000 calories. That’s not even 1/3 of a pound. The rest has to come from somewhere else. You will still have to cut back an additional 2500-2750. I will talk about the nutritional factors in the following posts devoted specifically to that subject, but in general, cutting your calories too low is not good either, because you will constantly be fatigued and grumpy.  Depending on your initial weight, the best solution is to cut between 250-500 calories from your diet daily (this number will depend on your overall calorie allowance for the day), and make up the rest of the difference in slightly longer, or more intense, workouts. Your weight training sessions should generally not be longer than 1 hour (plus a short warm-up and stretch), and your cardio sessions between 20 and 60 minutes; 20 for those who are total beginners, or those advanced ones who can really push at high intensity; and 60 for those who need to burn some serious calories but are not yet capable of working out doing high intensity interval training. I am generally not a big proponent of endless cardio sessions, (unless you’re an endurance athlete, of course) as they are catabolic in nature, make you lose muscle and, as a result, slow down the weight loss. They also very often lead to overtraining. My advice would be to limit your cardio to no more than 40-45 minutes, but put forward your best effort and really kick up the intensity. Also, do more lean- muscle-building weight training that will shape your body better than any cardio.

2. You exercise too much

This is as bad as doing too little and still quite common. I am not contradicting what I just said in the previous point, but more is NOT always better. Burning fat is very energy consuming for your body and you simply cannot fatigue it to the point where it has none left. Your body will outsmart you any time and will stop losing weight to protect itself from more abuse. You will also most likely find yourself looking puffy and retaining water, since it can’t keep up with clearing all the metabolic waste products out of the system. Use your common sense, listen to your body and let it rest if you feel exhausted. You will have more energy for your next workout and you can make it harder.

3. Your exercise is inappropriate for your age, fitness level and goals

I encourage all of you to invest in a few sessions with a good personal trainer. He/she will be well worth your time and money. Nothing can be more frustrating than wasting your time at the gym and not seeing results. Stop doing things you are not sure of or have no idea about. Your exercise program has to have arms and legs, be appropriate for you at the level you are currently at, be consistent with your goals and be performed according to a well designed plan that will progress you in the right way. Otherwise, not only will you not see much in terms of results, but you will be going in circles, and will eventually give up.

4. Your exercise intensity is too low or too high

Results oriented exercise is actually a science. Many people forget about it completely and think that anything will do. If you’re serious about results, ask someone who is trained in this area to figure out what intensity you should be working out at. This applies as much to cardio as strength training. If the intensity is too low, you are not going to challenge your heart or your muscles enough to get much benefit; if it’s too high, the chances are you will overtrain very fast, and might get injured in the process, which will only delay any possible progress.

5. Your exercise program lacks the proper balance of cardiovascular exercise and strength training

With all the knowledge out there on the importance of both, some people still often choose one over the other. From my observations, it’s usually the cardio lovers that tend to shun strength training and not so much the other way around. Keep in mind that both types of training affect the amount of calories burnt, and have the ability to increase your metabolic rate for quite a few hours afterwards. How much, depends on the intensity of the training itself. Cardiovascular workouts can burn quite a few calories during the session, while weight training builds muscle, and this in turn increases the metabolism overall, since muscle is a more metabolically active tissue than fat. The elevations in metabolism don’t seem very impressive in numbers, but add up considerably over time, so don’t ignore them. As a general rule, however, the more intense the workouts, both cardiovascular and strength training, the more additional calories your body will burn afterwards.

6. You are overdoing cardio

If you want to have a low percentage of body fat and look really lean, stop overdoing cardio. Your body gets very efficient at doing something you subject it to for such long stretches of time and will burn fewer and fewer calories the more you beat it up. Just look at so many “skinny fat” aerobics instructors who, though not heavy in a true sense, have a pretty high body fat. The same goes for long distance runners. Though lean due to pure amount of training, they look like famished skeletons with no muscle at all. Long aerobic workouts almost always guarantee that you will be burning precious muscle tissue, which is the last thing you want if you’re trying to lose weight. Also, it is almost a given that if you can do something for very long, you are not working out intensely enough.

7. Your exercise program is poorly designed or lacks any specific design to begin with

So you have read a few magazines and try to follow a routine described in the latest Men’s Health or Shape. Though some, or even all, exercises may be good, they may not always be the best for YOU. They don’t take all your particular circumstances into consideration and are almost never designed as part of a smart program, based on YOUR needs and goals. Or maybe you have designed your own routine, based on what you have observed in the gym – an even worse approach. Just because someone has a body you would like to have, does not mean you should follow everything they do. Their genetics are different, they may not have muscular conditions or imbalances that maybe you have, and you don’t know what else they do, or what they eat, to achieve the body you’re admiring. Exercise program design is a science and an art. Don’t just guess, or you’ll get nowhere.

8. Your form is incorrect on pretty much everything because you never learned how to perform the exercises appropriately. You think it’s OK because you’ve watched others do it

There is no substitution for working with a qualified trainer, at least for a few sessions. It is very hard to get the right feedback on whether you are actually performing the exercises correctly, especially if you have never done them before. It may seem to you that you are doing things exactly as they should be done, but only a qualified professional can spot where you’re lacking in form.  Invest in a few sessions and learn proper form. Otherwise, you are not going to achieve the results you are looking for.

9. You have no idea about proper intensity, load, sets, reps, tempo, rest periods between sets, etc. and how they affect your workout outcome

As I said in point 7, program design is a science. It takes years to study the human body and how it responds to various ways of training. Do you really know what intensity in a weight training session is? It is a degree of one’s applied strength relative to their current level of maximum strength. Probably not what you thought it was. How about load, tempo or rest periods? Do you know that when you change the rest periods just slightly, your whole program has just changed and you might be getting completely different results than you actually intended? If you plan on working out on your own and not wasting your time, make sure you learn about all the factors that affect your workout BEFORE you hit the weights.

10. You simply don’t have the knowledge when it comes to exercise and workouts

This is a very common problem, yet I see people in gyms all the time that insist on using weights and machines having absolutely no clue how to do so correctly. Please, please spend a few bucks and learn first. It will not only prevent an injury but is the ONLY way for you to get some benefits out of your workout.

11. You lift weights that are way too light to make any significant difference in gaining lean body mass and losing fat

This applies mostly to women, but not entirely so. In order to achieve strength gains, increase muscle size or just shape and tone your muscles, you need to challenge them enough so that they could respond by adapting to the new level of effort and thus changing the way you would like them to. This can only be done with a proper overload. If the weights you’re lifting don’t provide much of a challenge, you are wasting your time. For those women who are afraid of bulking up, I have a few words of assurance: we don’t have enough testosterone to build giant muscles that easily and you would have to lift very heavy weights in order to do so. If, however, you have a sizeable fat layer on your muscles, and you gain even a little bit of lean body mass, without losing any fat, it may look like you’re getting big. Extra muscle is a good thing, but you also have to look at your diet, incorporate cardiovascular exercise and stretch, in order to lose the fat and look really lean.

12. You don’t get enough recovery

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they get too eager to lose weight fast is forgetting that their bodies are not ever-ready batteries. Your muscles, and your cardiovascular system, need a sufficient amount of time to recover. Your muscles grow and change during that time, NOT when you put them through hundreds of contractions under heavy resistance. Remember to allow yourself enough rest days. It’s different for everyone. Some people can work out 5-6 days straight, and then take a day off; others might do 2 very intense sessions and have to rest on the 3^rd day. All depends on your fitness level and your body’s ability to recover. There is no golden rule here.

Stay tuned for Part 3 – the Nutritional Reasons for not losing weight – coming soon.

RECORD WEIGHT LOSS THAT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY – HOW ONE MAN ESCAPED THE PRISON THAT WAS HIMSELF

THE STORY OF STEVE “SIRDROPALOT” NICANDER – THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

                                                  Steve before

I had the honor of meeting Steve Nicander at the recent IDEA World Fitness Convention in Los Angeles. It took me only a split second to decide to do an interview with him. I wanted to know, how someone so close to death, could find in him the inner strength to get up and fight. How someone sentenced to living in a chair or in bed, could find the motivation to “exercise”. How do you even do it when you weigh over 600 lbs?

I hear excuses from people, some of my clients not excluded, that they really don’t have time to exercise, they have this condition or that, the gym is too far away, it is too cold or too hot,  they are too busy, too tired, too everything. How does a person like Steve, manage to lose close to 400 lbs, without being able to really “move”? If anyone could have had excuses, HE should have been the first person to have them, yet once he had made up his mind, he never gave up. I wanted to know more about his journey; what led to his morbid obesity; what was his life like; what made him finally decide to lose the weight for good. I wanted to know more about the impact Dr. Daniel Amen’s book had on him since I met Dr. Amen personally at the IDEA fitness convention.

Here’s Steve’s amazing story:

Contrary to what most people might think, Steve was not a child of obese parents. According to him, they would probably be considered just slightly overweight by today’s standards. Both his mother and grandmother were Old World cooks who relied on simple whole foods for nourishment. Junk food was nonexistent in the house and convenience foods, like sodas and the like, were not allowed. However, the external environment, school being one of the main places, provided enough temptation for the young boy to give into and then hide the facts from his family. As a result, at age 11, Steve was already overweight. From that point on, it only got worse. As it turned out quite recently, part of the initial reason for his weight gain were incorrect hormone levels which were most likely out of balance his entire life. To make matters worse, he was a musician at the time, which made unhealthy lifestyle choices, like drinking and smoking, even more accessible. A combination of low thyroid, as well as low testosterone, created a double whammy, but it was not until depression set in during his teens, that the situation went completely out of control. He turned to alcohol for solace putting in hundreds of empty calories on a daily basis. It was a deadly combination. As hard as it is to believe, at his worst, Steve would consume an entire 0.75L of 100 proof vodka and a half gallon of orange juice every day. He reached his highest weight at age 38, tipping the scales at 638 lbs.

I asked him what factors, in his opinion, led to such morbid obesity: nutritional, physical, psychological, all the above or maybe other. According to him, all three played a significant role, and created a vicious cycle. Asked what inside him allowed this to happen, he responded that depression was the key factor which progressed, along with the weight gain, until he became suicidal and simply stopped caring. He wanted his pain and suffering to cease and was hoping his demise would come quick. He contemplated suicide, but as ludicrous as it might sound, his gun was stored upstairs and he couldn’t get to it, as he was unable to walk up the stairs. When I heard that, I was curious what his life was like during all those years, as it’s easy to imagine that someone with obesity of that level would be hugely limited to just a few basic activities. In Steve’s words, ‘he was barely living at all’. He described his existence as dull and sedentary, with his only links to the outside world being TV, music and computer. One expression in particular, moved me with its incredible sense of reality and tragic: “It was like being trapped within myself and my own internal prison, my personal hell’.

You probably wonder what went through his mind; what feelings stirred inside him; did he hate himself. As you might imagine, there were not many positive feelings: self-loathing, hatred, anxiety, and anger towards himself, society and the whole world. He could not stand getting his picture taken or seeing himself in the mirror for years on end. He didn’t care what other people, including his friends and family, said or thought. Numbness was the overwhelming emotion and the desire for his torturous life of misery to end as soon as possible.

I asked him if he attempted any diets at that time, and if so, were any of them successful. Did he have a plan, if any, for solving the problem? Did he ever ask for help?

Steve, like most people trying to lose weight, tried every single diet he could get his hands on, every Over-The-Counter drug and prescription diet and weight loss pill, as well as cookbooks and various programs. The results were very slight at best – ten pounds here and there, but nothing more. He didn’t have a plan, nor did he care to even think of one. He tried to get some help through information he could find on the computer or in books, but never really reached out to people, except his personal physicians. Those, however, knowing how touchy the subject must have been for him, didn’t even broach it more than a couple times. Steve didn’t really want help, until he was ready to actually do something.

From my own experience with clients, it is never a lack of resources or willingness of others to help, but a lack of willingness on the part of the person in question to accept it. In my opinion, it is useless, in most cases, to try to help someone who is not ready, and Steve was no exception. When I asked him what brought on the final decision to lose weight for good, it turned out it was pain. His neuropathy became so severe that he knew unless he changed his life AND his lifestyle, his health would never improve. At that time, he also suffered from insomnia, and after a 3 week long bout of not sleeping, he finally decided to end the 25 year alcohol addiction, which was a huge contributor to the problem. It was the first step on the path to well-being.

How did he go about the whole process? At the time, he was staying at a physical rehabilitation center following one of many hospital stays. There he bought a laptop computer and started researching the most natural ways of reversing and curing his numerous conditions: morbid obesity itself, as well as all the chronic diseases it brought on. These included COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), arthritis, type 2 diabetes and neuropathy. A couple of months into his journey, his sister Sabrina, who had been his rock through the whole process, bought him a book by Dr. Daniel Amen, entitled “Change Your Brain, Change Your Body”. In it Dr. Amen explains that by giving the brain the right nutrients, as well as some important natural supplements, plenty of water and exercise, the body will actually heal itself, solving the weight issues and reversing disease. The book played a key role in introducing Steve to the concept of whole foods and nutrients they bring. He also used information he learned from Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. David Kessler among others. These are all doctors who use the same approach.

                                  Steve, before the weight loss, with his sister Sabrina

I wanted to know what the first changes he made were, and which made the biggest difference on his road to recovery. The answer didn’t surprise me, and confirmed the one thing I have always advocated to all of my clients – WHOLE, ORGANIC FOODS. Steve completely eliminated processed foods and any “white” foods from his diet, and reduced his sugar intake, bad fats and sodium, THE BIG 3, as he calls them. Since reversal of disease was essential for him, he learned from his research that he had to rely on organic whole foods in order to make the biggest impact on his health and bring on the quickest results. These turned out to be almost immediate – he lost 156 lbs in 4 months and managed to cure his diabetes.

As a Holistic Lifestyle and Nutrition Coach, I deal with the challenges people come across on a daily basis, exercise being one of them. Most are a lot less difficult to overcome than people imagine them to be. This was the first time, however, that I truly saw the magnitude of the challenge, and how much inner strength and determination it must have taken to overcome it. Imagine a body weighing nearly 650 lbs. How can one exercise if one can barely walk? Nearly impossible! Well, Steve turned out to be quite ingenious; he started to improvise by “dancing” in his recliner with wrist and ankle weights and dumbbells, in an effort to raise his heart rate and start sweating in order to burn some fat.

We take so many things for granted. Many people still think that taking a walk outside, or doing a short workout on the treadmill, is torture. Well, sometimes it’s good to see things from a slightly different perspective.

I wondered what Steve’s biggest motivation was then, what it is now and whether it changed at all through the whole process. It turns out, at the beginning it was the weight itself disappearing as quickly as it did, and the 4-month weigh-in that showed a 156 lbs loss. It changed everything for him, because he quickly realized he had basically saved his life. He also saw the potential to help other people, going through the same issues, help themselves. To do that, he started his own Facebook group, Steve’s Massive Weight Loss Fan Page, posting information, articles and various tips on weight loss. By now, it has turned into a life passion he is pursuing by trying to reach as many people across the country and the world as possible.

No matter how successful one might be in as daunting an endeavor as an attempt to lose 450-some pounds, something has to keep them going, since the road is not always easy. Many roadblocks occur on the way, and only the most patient, resilient and committed remain until the end of the race. So what, you might wonder, kept Steve going this whole time? It was the knowledge that other people in need were using his information with great success. Presently, Steve is working on his own reality TV series that he hopes to pitch in the coming months, called Big Dreams. The show will focus on teaching viewers about healthy lifestyle habits that lead to successful weight loss and general wellness. This project has given his life a real purpose. In his own words: "Every time (…) I tell my story, I know I touch people and their lives….his is a huge reason to keep doing what I am now doing!"

One of my questions to Steve was about the dramatic change in his daily life. How different was his life now? What was he actually eating these days? How has his relationship to food changed? The difference between his life now and then is enormous. From bed-ridden, depressed, suicidal alcoholic he transformed himself into a real health activist, safe foods advocate, motivational speaker, moderator, writer and producer of a potential TV show. His life will never be the same mundane existence as years before. Now, every day is a new challenge and a new adventure. And although he was close to death on many occasions, he thinks he was allowed to survive for a reason, and he takes his mission very seriously.

His relationship to food also changed dramatically for the better. Food has become fuel, as it’s intended to be, as well as “medication”. He wholeheartedly believes, as much as I do, in the words of Hippocrates, the Father of Nutritional Healing and Modern Medicine, that state: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Presently, Steve consumes large amounts of vegetables, and moderate amounts of fruit, seeds, and anything Mother Nature produces. What a change! From a malnourished alcoholic to a veggie munching happy camper. J

I am always curious what people learn from their life journeys. What do they learn about themselves? The whole process becomes an important life lesson and, more often than not, it’s a total transformation. Steve’s was no exception. He learned one of the most valuable lessons one can ever learn: that he was a lot stronger and more resilient than he ever gave himself credit for. He quotes one of his favorite sayings: “You never realize the strength of a Man until you see him at his weakest moment”. In the last year he has finally accepted himself and begun to love himself again. Now, he is trying to pay forward that love to others, to make them realize that by making necessary changes, they too, can transform and save their lives. He learned something that I have believed for many years now - that the solution to chronic disease and illness is a lot simpler than medical science is trying to make it out to be; that by removing chemicals from our bodies (which include medications and alcohol), and relying on NATURAL MEANS, like food, water and specific supplements, we can get a handle on the obesity epidemic in America. However, this will only happen when we can finally understand that we have full control of our health. The choices we make have a direct impact on what quality of health we are going to have. Human body was created to exist and thrive in a state of wellness, and when given proper nutrients and much needed movement, it is amazingly brilliant at healing itself. It is what we DO and DON’T DO that leads to disease and ill health.

I asked Steve what advice he would give to people who struggle with morbid obesity or any weight problems in general. Here’s what he had to say: “Realize that each and every one of you has the capability within yourself to make the necessary changes (…) to reverse pain, depression, anxiety, illness, weight gain and disease….” The way to achieve this is to start relying on Whole Food Nutrition, exercise and lots of good quality water. When it comes to exercise, especially in case of people who do not have the capacity to participate in more serious fitness activities, ANY type of consistent movement that allows the metabolism to be boosted will be meaningful. It will help to transform the body, if regular schedule is maintained. FITNESS is essential for optimum health and wellness.

Steve weighs 260 pounds at the moment. It has taken him over 2 years to get there. At the time of the interview (beginning of September), he was 22 pounds away from losing 400 LBS. He still can’t quite believe it. To date, he has done over 400 hours of nutritional research, mostly on his own, and has used the information given to him by experts in the field as well as many extraordinary people he has met during his amazing journey back to health.

Steve’s dream is to see the transformation happen all over America, see the real change in a country that is struggling with an epidemic of not only obesity, but also chronic disease. Ways to address these problems are simpler than many of us realize, or want to admit.

After having been in the health and fitness field for over 20 years, it is my belief, that although people have a free will, our current healthcare and medical system is partially to blame, along with insurance companies, Big Pharma, food industry, agricultural corporations, and advertising industry, just to name a few. This formidable force perpetuates greed to its very core. Greed is an extremely strong driving force for many and very difficult to stop. We have done so much damage already. If something does not change soon, it may be too late. Humans were designed to fight and resist disease, but this country is helping them to fail at every step of the way. Disease is spoon-fed to us from every angle. Instead of promoting disease-causing Franken-foods and chemically laden poison, we should be promoting farmers markets that sell organic food, community supported agriculture and co-ops. We need to promote healthy natural foods in schools all over the country, teach sustainable gardening and farming wherever possible, and rely on Nature to feed us, rather than technology and artificial, processed foods. We should be promoting health by means of prevention, through exercise and fitness in schools, instead of taking them out of the system. We need to fight for the safety of our food supply, and realize that things like pesticides, hormones, unnatural animal feeds and GMOs (genetically modified foods) should be banned before they get out of control and we are left with no natural foods on this planet. There is obviously a reason why so many countries have banned them already. All this is taking a huge toll on our youth, and childhood obesity, along with diabetes, are reaching epidemic proportions. When we create disease so early on in the young, what will this country look like when they become adults? The perspective is scary and the future looks bleak. Now, more than ever, we need all the knowledgeable, empowered people to stand up united and fight back to claim our health. It is not enough to think and talk about it. We have to act upon it and each and every one of us has to take responsibility for our own health.

HEALTH IS NOT A STATE OF MIND; IT’S A STATE OF BEING!

I know Steve agrees with me.

                        Steve after losing 378 lbs, at the IDEA World Fitness Convention

 If you would like to contact Steve, please visit one of his websites or Facebook pages, or call him directly. You can also watch a trailer on his You Tube channel. Here’s all the information:

STEVE NICANDER                                                                                                               

Healthful Hope                                                                                                                       

Health Activist/ Safe Food Advocate/ Motivational Speaker                         www.healthfulhope.com                                                            

www.facebook.com/pages/Healthful-Hope

RealBigDreamsLLC                                                                                                                      

Producer                                                                                                                   www.realbigdreams.com                                                               

www.facebook.com/BigDreamsTV                                                                                                    

Mobile Phone: (704) 928-7055

LINK TO THE TRAILER ON HIS YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr1KZAp06Yg&feature=channel_video_title