Separating the fat from the fiction
By Meeghan, 7 June, 2010
Lately there seems to be an abundance of information about fat loss. I only have to open the paper at the café, listen to the radio or turn on the TV at home and I’m overwhelmed with the latest research on fighting flab. And naturally, because of my profession, I read, listen and watch with interest.
Two recent studies have caught my attention and deserve some discussion. The first comes from the Journal of the American Medical Association. It looked at how much exercise women needed to do to keep the flab off as they age. The results attracted a lot of media attention as the study found at least an hour of moderate activity a day was needed. And everyone freaked out. Including me. An hour a day? Where on earth were my busy mum’s, corporate go getters and retired jet setters going to find the time?
However when I looked more closely I realised the media reporting of this study could be misleading. Firstly, moderate activity was studied not vigorous activity and secondly this study was only looking at women who weren’t cutting back on the amount of kilojoules they were eating. As we get older most of us tend to move less but we eat the same. In order to maintain a healthy weight as we age we need to move more vigorously, more often and we must eat less.
The second study appeared in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and looked at whether exercise-induced improvements in health are actually influenced by changes in body weight. This article acknowledges losing weight is difficult and warns against measuring success only in terms of kilograms lost because this attitude can breed unrealistic expectations and set us up for failure.
The study took a group of 58 sedentary, overweight or obese men and women who participated in a 12-week supervised aerobic exercise program, consisting of five weekly sessions. They were asked to stick with their regular eating habits.
When the data was collected the participants fell into two groups: responders who lost a mean reduction of predicted body weight of 3.3kg and non-responders who failed to achieve the predicted weight loss. Almost half of the participants failed to achieve weight loss but both groups achieved significant increases in aerobic capacity, including an improvement in resting heart rate, decreased blood pressure and decreased waist circumference. And perhaps most importantly, all participants experienced an exercise induced boost in their positive mood. In other words, they all felt better.
Lost in the translation of many articles I read about fat loss is the sheer joy to be felt from moving the body. Over thousands and thousands of years the human species has had to hunt and gather, fight or - run like hell. Our bodies are designed to move. It’s only in the age of technology, that our choice of lifestyle (full of appliances, gadgets, cars and remote controls - which promised to make our lives easier) has had the unexpected result of making our lives more difficult by way of alarming rates of obesity and chronic disease.
It is not easy to maintain a healthy weight or to commit to a physical training program of self improvement as you will need to exercise and eat well most days of the week. But little by little you will get stronger and fitter, feel better for it and maybe lose some body fat along the way. There is no one final destination, a point at which you can stop or jump off. It’s a long term commitment you make to yourself to live in a better functioning body, with a healthy mind and an increased sense of well being.
Turned off by the big tick
By Meeghan, 12 May, 2010
When I was at school, some time ago now, a tick symbol was recognized as a mark for correct and a cross symbol was a mark for incorrect. I liked that system, pretty simple and fairly black and white.
But the tick of today isn’t as straight forward as it once was. Two of the most recognized logos in Australia, the Heart Foundation tick, representing healthy food choices for consumers and McDonald’s, representing burgers and fries, continue to be engaged in a dubious healthy food alliance. And now I’m confused.
Since early 2007 the Heart Foundation has given the tick of approval to a number of McDonald’s meals. Tick meal 2 currently consists of 6 Chicken McNuggets served with a garden salad and 1560 kilojoules, 21.7 grams of fat and 687 mg of salt per serve. Add fries or an orange juice to your chicken McNuggets and the tick obviously, becomes void. But does this meal, without the fries, deserve a tick when it is already so high in energy, fat and salt? And should the Heart Foundation continue to endorse a company that still sells a heart attack in a box, the Big Mac?
The Heart Foundation believed they had a responsibility to ‘shake’ up the fast food market in 2007. They argued they were dealing with the reality of the Western world and were challenging fast food companies to produce healthier not healthy food.* A challenging but necessary partnership was formed and the fast food giant they say, has had to work hard to meet the nutrition standards of the Tick Criteria Working group.
CHOICE magazine however, recently reviewed the Heart Foundation tick and expressed concern that the development and subsequent reviews of the tick criteria were not open to broad consultation and, sugar which currently isn’t included in any product criteria, should be. They also made a good point that manufacturers pay a licence fee** for the Heart Foundation tick; other products may be just as good or better but competitors have decided not to be endorsed by the tick program.
The Heart Foundation, a non-profit organization, has a mission to ‘to improve the cardiac health of Australians’ but is sending mixed messages to the consumer. On the one hand the tick implies healthy food choice but in reality it is only a healthier food choice, the best from a bad bunch. Yes, the Tick meals are lower in saturated fat and salt than they were before (when they were super high) but they are still high! Will the tick endorsement move a Big Mac eater to change to a tick meal? Hardly, I think it’s more likely to attract new customers to McDonald’s and normalize the eating of burgers and fries.
And I keep asking myself is it really possible that the junk food giant who in part created the obesity epidemic now really wants to fix the problem? Or is it all part of McDonald’s re-branding, an attempt to boost its image after the public backlash from films like Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation? Could it simply be savvy marketing spin, an ingenious move to re-position itself as a healthy and nutritious company? Either way I believe it has hurt the integrity of the tick.
McDonald’s is in the business of selling burgers and fries and being aligned with the Heart Foundation (and soon to be Weight Watchers in Australia)*** is a great promotion that will attract the health conscious mother aged 25-39 (with children) looking for healthier convenience food. Now if these women come in through the golden arches then McDonald’s also has a new generation of child customers to target. Australian nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said the sales of burgers and fries soared when McDonald’s first introduced its healthy Deli Choices menu in 2004 and I would suggest McDonald’s knew then, it was on to something. An alliance with the Heart Foundation since 2007 is an attempt to increase product sales through an unconvincing healthier line of food. And to add mockery to the Heart Foundation endorsement tick last October McDonalds profits soared another 6%, mostly because of burgers and fries sales.
More than three years down the track the Heart Foundation continues to endorse a company who’s bottom line is still burgers and fries and yet obesity is on the up and up, as are McDonald’s profits. If the heart foundation is serious about improving the cardiac heath of Australians they cannot continue to endorse a company which sells high fat and high sodium junk food. Yes where I come from it’s pretty simple and black and white. I’ll be putting a big fat cross through any food with a Heart Foundation tick and I won’t purchase in protest.
*Burgers are big business - fast food restaurants around Australia sell 2.7 million meals a day and an estimated 1.2 million Australians eat McDonalds, the king of junk food, daily.
**McDonald’s pays $330,000 to the Heart Foundation each year to earn the tick of approval. This money goes towards the cost of testing meals to make sure they meet Tick criteria working group standards and random auditing of restaurants.
**Sometime soon coming to a McDonalds near you, the Weight Watchers logo will be on McDonald’s menu boards and tray mats and the slimming company will promote McDonald’s at dieters meetings and on TV. It’s already happening in New Zealand.
Home workout plan for parents
By Meeghan, 12 March, 2010
I recently received an email from my client Scott, a father of two, with a link to the home workout plan he has been following.
As I'm always in search of new ways to motivate my clients to workout at home, I've decided to share this program with you.
Please let me know what you think!
To view the home workout plan click here.
Moderate activity?
By Meeghan, 6 October, 2009
Both the Australian physical activity guidelines and the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines recommend 'moderate' intense physical activity on most days of the week.
A significant issue with these current physical activity recommendations (no it's not the fact that almost 50% of Australians are not following them) is use of the word 'moderate', which means different things to different people.
A study was recently published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine which attempts to translate these physical activity recommendations into a pedometer-based step goal and here's what they found.
To maintain a 'moderate' level of physical activity men and women are required to walk between 92 - 115 steps a minute; this is a brisk pace you might walk when running late for an important meeting with your personal trainer!
Aim for a brisk 3,000 step walk in 30 minutes or three 10-minute walks of 1,000 steps a day to ensure you are meeting the basic recommendations for good health and invest in an accurate pedometer; Choice recommends the Yamax Digiwalker SW-701 which is widely available in Australia.
Walktober 2009
By Meeghan, 6 October, 2009
Walktober, a community walking event was created four years ago by Kinect Australia in collaboration with VicHealth to motivate and support people to walk for fun and health. In 2008 over 90,000 people participated in Walktober in Victoria.
This year Forever Strong Fitness will be participating in Walktober by launching our very own free Heart Foundation walking group at 8.30am on Tuesday October 6th.
If you haven’t already done so now is your last chance to register for this event and receive a free “health pack” from the Heart Foundation which includes goodies such as a pedometer, socks and massage oil.
Don’t stop till you get enough
By Meeghan, 5 May, 2009
My clients often ask me how much exercise they should be doing. It’s a really difficult question as there are lots of different models with varying recommendations. However one model that caught my eye recently was the physical activity guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. For healthy adults under age 65 the basic recommendations are; Moderate intense cardio 30mins, 5 days a week or Vigorous intense cardio 20mins, 3 days a week and, 2 x Strength Training sessions every week. It should be noted to lose weight more physical activity may be necessary! Are you doing enough?
Recovery: an important part of training
By Meeghan, 7 March, 2009
An often-neglected component of training is rest and recovery.
Physical training places stress on the body, which results in changes in our body – we get fitter or stronger or we lose body fat. An often-neglected component of training is rest and recovery. If you don’t recover properly from training you run the risk of injury or mental fatigue. So prioritise a short stretch of 5 minutes at lunchtime, indulge in a bath with essential oils or seek out a qualified massage therapist to ease your aching muscles!
Heatwave hits Melbourne
By Meeghan, 5 February, 2009
While the heatwave may be over, Summer still has some way to go. Here’s my tips for training and maintaining your cool. Sip on water all day, particularly on the days you have personal training. Avoid soft drinks high in sugar as these will only increase your dehydration and won’t actually quench your thirst. After exercising you may put an icepack wrapped in a wet tea towel on your body to cool you down. Keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm to prevent sunburn and heatstroke. Be sensible; keep the exercise habit going but reduce the length of training and/ or the intensity.
Let’s talk about sweat
By Meeghan, 6 January, 2009
Is sweating a good indicator of a healthy workout? According to David Jenkins, exercise physiologist, it’s not that easy - there are several factors that determine whether you sweat. To begin with sweat glands are all over our body and they help us to maintain a regular body temperature. These glands secrete sweat onto the surface of our skin when we get hot and as the sweat evaporates we cool down. For many years we have been told you need to sweat or you’re not working hard enough but Dr Jenkins says external temperature and humidity levels will affect how much we sweat and how long it stays on our body.
How to survive the silly season
By Meeghan, 5 December, 2008
It’s that time of year again and chances are you haven’t eaten turkey or plum pudding since last Christmas.
Tip 1-Moderation. Enjoy small portions of a wide variety of foods. You’ll get to eat all your favourites but you won’t end up feeling stuffed to the brim. Try filling your plate with grilled seafood, skinless chicken, salad and vegetable.
Tip 2-Sleep your way to the top. Australians are sleep deprived. Make it a priority to engage in a little R & R. Sleep an extra hour every night on your holidays and buy yourself a massage.
Tip 3-Play like a kid. Get out the beach cricket set, the badminton net and the frisbee and have some fun with the kids. They’ll love you for it and you’ll get some much needed energetic exercise.
