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February 2001 Vol. 6 No. 2
I claim to be no more than an average man with below-average capabilities. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have if he or she would put forth the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.
MAHATMA GANDHI (1869-1948)
Table of Contents
Weight Management: AFPA Position Paper
FYI
Diabetes Rates Rise Another 6 Percent
Does Your Child Want To Be A Vegetarian?
Capsaicin For Headaches?
Fitness & Nutrition Questions & Answers
Weight Management: A Prominent Component of Health & Fitness The Position Paper of American Fitness Professionals and Associates [AFPA]Please view our position paper on proper weight management at: http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/AFPAPosWtMg.htm
FYI
Green tea has been touted as a cancer-fighting antioxidant, and recently been found to increase metabolic rate. The flavonoids alter the body’s use of norepinephrine, a chemical transmitter in the nervous system. Flavonoids, those naturally occurring plant substances, are also antiviral agents. Elderberry extract contains three flu-fighting flavonoids.
Ginseng lowers total cholesterol and especially LDL [low density lipo-protein].
Diabetes Rates Rise Another 6 Percent
Diabetes rates rose a striking 6 percent among adults in 1999 according to researchers at the CDC. The new findings are reported in the February issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association, and are further evidence that diabetes is a major public health threat of epidemic proportions.http://diabeticgourmet.com/news/pages/66.shtml
Does Your Child Want To Be A Vegetarian?
When a child announces that he or she wants to become a vegetarian, parents often express concern — will their children miss out on the nutrients they require for proper growth and development? Rest assured, says Karen Hudson, you can easily find those nutrients in common household foods. Knowing which nutrients are needed is the first step in ensuring your child’s healthy transition to a vegetarian diet. http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/art_kids/v1i16_kids.shtml
Capsaicin For Headaches?
According to Men’s Health Magazine, 73% of headache sufferers reported relief when they rubbed capsaicin - the ingredient that makes cayenne pepper hot -on their noses. For more information on herbs and supplements, visit our Natural Health Encyclopedia at http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/ency/encindex.xml
Fitness & Nutrition Questions & Answers
Question: My cousin and I were wondering if you knew of any ways we could thin down our arms and legs. We are above average in our fitness levels, and are currently exercising four times a week. We feel our problem lies mainly in the fact that we have muscular builds from previous intense sports training, such as competitive swimming and volleyball, to name a few. Neither of us are overweight (5′4 and 5′2..and 125lbs), and we both admit that overall we are relatively thin.
However, we were curious if you knew how we could successfully thin down our muscular legs and arms without replacing the muscle with fat or cellulite. We run quite a bit, alternating swimming, elliptical running, weights and aerobics vidoes…and while we feel like we’re toning ourselves, is there a way to Thin ourselves. Are our exercises actually bulking us up? Would yoga slim us down? Please let us know if you have any information that could be useful….we’d be SO grateful!
Answer: Your years of intense physical exercise have resulted in developing your muscular upper body. Many individuals work diligently to achieve what you are trying to undo. Yogo is great for developing increased flexibility. You could try increasing your repetitions with lighter resistance or weight [say in the 12-15 repetition range for upper body exercises].
If you stop training altogether for the upper body it will, over time cause you to lose muscle and tone. Fat would only occupy the space if you totally stopped all your physical activity and eat like the typical American.
Question: My abs are ok. They are pretty flat, but it is the waist area that concerns me. My “love handles” hang over my pants, so wearing a tight shirt is out of the question. More importantly, I do not want them to hang over my bikini! In general I am slim except for this area. Help, summer is around the corner!! Thank you so much. For the most part, I try to eat healthy. I have a boyfriend who eats nothing but junk, and it is hard to resist when it is around!
Answer: Your boy friends metabolism is higher due to greater lean body mass. He may look good on the outside…… You on the other hand cannot afford to eat junk food of any kind if your goal is to fit into a bikini the way it was designed to be worn. I am not sure what your diet and exercise program is like [you mentioned moderate for exercise].
Maintain cardio-vascular exercise [a minimum of 30 minutes of varied activity 5-6 days aweek. Maintain strength training activities 30-40 minutes, working each major muscle group twice weekly.
The fat deposits on your hips are your genetic location to store fat. With all the exercise you do-if you are still following the cardio/strength and you still have fatty deposits then I would suspect diet. Avoid fatty and processed foods. Avoid dairy and limit alcohol. Drink 8-10 glasses of steam distilled water daily.
Question: I don’t know what foods to eat(since being on atkins) I workout 6days/week. 4 days I do 70 mins of aerobic exercise. 45 min spin class and 30 run/life fitness machine. the other 2 days 30 mins life fitness and then 45min tone class.
I don’t want to gain the weight back that I lost. I find that if i eat carbs, I want sugar. my goal is to be lean and eat like a “normal” person. I lost 40lbs on the atkins diet. I still eat low carbs and high protein (try to eat lean protein) or foods that aren’t processed
Answer: Congratulation on your weight loss. You cannot maintain the atkins diet indefinitely as it is an unhealthy way to eat and live.
Regarding your fears of eating carbohydrates and the associated weight gain that you have experienced in the past. I would suggest that you learn more about the Glycemic Index and choose foods that are lower than 70 [these include sweet potato’s, brown rice, whole grains, vegetables, beans, legumes, etc].
Two good articles for you can be found at the following address:
http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/dietdilemma.htm
http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/glycemic.htm
Question: I am just starting to work out… my problem area is my thighs.. the upper outer part.. is very bulgy and I am very self conscious about it.. was wondering which exercise would be the best to make the bulges disappear… and also.. I was wondering if there was an exercise to increase my breast size… or at the very least.. make them more perky…? thankyou so much for your time and expertise. I eat two meals a day and a few snacks. I almost always eat some sort of sweet after i eat and again at bedtime.
Answer: The best defense for reducing your thighs is changing your diet. Sweets cause the body to store more fat-in this case in your generically pre-disposed areas [thighs, etc]. You need to replace the sweets with fresh fruits and vegetables [especially sweet red and yellow peppers]. Avoid refined flour [any bread or pasta made from white flour], white rice.
Eat foods that are as unrefined as possible, brown rice, whole grain bread for example. Drink at least 8 glasses [8 ounces] each of steam distilled water or bottled water that is chlorine and fluoride free each day. Walk whenever you can. Pick up a pedometer and wear it during the day. Your goal should be 3 miles of walking everyday-separate from your workout.
This will increase your daily caloric expenditure by a minimum of 300 calories daily.
For your upper body. Incline dumbbell flys or standing upright cable cross-overs will increase the tone of your pectoralis major and assist in lifting your breast tissue some. Working the muscles of the middle and upper back will support and improve your posture which will pull your shoulders back and improve the lift more. Exercises such as reverse flys, and rowing [machine or dumbbell or long pulley row]. 3 sets of 10 reps.
Remember, diet is the key. ”It is far easier to avoid a 400 calorie desert than to exercise for 1 hour to burn it off”