I subscribe to a free weekly e-newsletter from Roadbikerider.com. It's got lots of great tips for cyclists, and of course I need to scrutinize each issue to see if there is some new tip for climbing better.
This week they passed along a tip from Dr. Mirkin about aging and dieting that is important to pass along. Even you aren't old yet, you will be soon enough and you no doubt know someone that is old enough to benefit from this information:
The Doc is asked: Why do so many people fail to keep weight off after they diet? And the doc's answer is:
"A new study shows that older people who diet without exercising lose huge amounts of muscle. When weight loss was combined with exercise, they did not lose muscle (Journal of Applied Physiology, October 2008).
"Loss of muscle slows metabolism even further because larger muscles burn more calories at rest.
"In the study, elderly sedentary people were placed in three groups: (1) diet only; (2) exercise only; (3) diet and exercise.
"Those who dieted and exercised for four months lost more fat and less muscle than those who only dieted. Most of the exercisers chose to walk on a treadmill, which is not a very vigorous endeavor.
"This also explains why losing weight repeatedly through dieting shortens a person's lifespan.
"Many people go on diets and lose weight, quickly regain their lost weight, and then go on a diet again. These people then become fatter at the same weight because they have lost so much muscle. Therefore, at the same weight, they have fuller fat cells.
"Full fat cells produce an immune stimulant called cytokines that turn on a person's immunity continuously to cause inflammation, which increases risk for cancers, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and other harmful diseases."
I visited Dr. Mirkin's site for the first time tonight. What a find! His wife has posted a ton of recipes that look to be very tasty and healthful, so I'm looking forward to trying out a lot of new recipes next week. And he also provides a subscription to a free weekly e-zine with tips on eating and living well. I can't wait to get the first issue. While you're at the site, also get your free copy of The Good Food Book!
And check out his page about salt and blood pressure. You'll be surprised by what he tells you, but my recent experience has validated his advice.
Showing posts with label diets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diets. Show all posts
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Nutritional Strategies
About five years ago I started running into some health problems. I decided to look to the web to find ways to live healthier, rather than heading to a doctor and getting a handful of pills. My search led me to a number of resources worth sharing.
The first is The Zone Diet. There are lots of other similar diets, and by mentioning The Zone I'm not necessarily endorsing it, though the general strategy is very sound. Basically it allows you to control blood sugar by removing breads and starchy foods from your diet, and uses frequent meals and snacks with some protein and a little good fat to control your appetite. It works. It's a huge dietary change for most of us, so it'll require a willingness to change a life time of eating habits. But by following this diet I managed to painlessly loose 10 pounds less than when I was on WeightWatchers (and hungry all the time). Team Slipstream is using the same diet to give their team an edge. Check out their blog here to learn more about the value of this approach to nutrition.
The second is mercola.com. This site reinforces many of the principles of The Zone diet, but with a ton of great information on taking control of your own health. If you're currently on meds for common diseases - high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, auto-immune diseases, I highly recommend subscribing to his 3 times a week newsletter. Even if some of the stuff seems a bit out there, don't discard the rest. There is a ton of great info. You'll be glad you took the time.
The third is the Cyclo-Fuel nutrition plan and the Cyclo-Club. The value of Cyclo-Fuel is that is very similar to The Zone, but specifically targeted to cyclists. There's a seven day fat loss plan designed to break your sugar addiction that's an important first step for most folks. And in the Cyclo-Club there's a seven day fat loss boot camp along the same lines (no need to buy Cyclo-Fuel). The one thing that sold me on Cyclo-Fuel was that before buying it I had been monitoring my blood pressure daily for about a year. It was borderline high - often around 128/80, once in a while even higher. I watched the Soffritto demonstration on Cyclo-Fuel and was intrigued by the flexibility of this cooking technique in creating a number of interesting one dish meals. I tried it and the next day my BP was 112/70. And while following the principles of the plan it has consistently stayed 10 points below what it had been previously. I can't say that everyone will have the same results, since there is so much variability how people eat and their genetics. But for me that made it well worth the price of admission for the plan.
The first is The Zone Diet. There are lots of other similar diets, and by mentioning The Zone I'm not necessarily endorsing it, though the general strategy is very sound. Basically it allows you to control blood sugar by removing breads and starchy foods from your diet, and uses frequent meals and snacks with some protein and a little good fat to control your appetite. It works. It's a huge dietary change for most of us, so it'll require a willingness to change a life time of eating habits. But by following this diet I managed to painlessly loose 10 pounds less than when I was on WeightWatchers (and hungry all the time). Team Slipstream is using the same diet to give their team an edge. Check out their blog here to learn more about the value of this approach to nutrition.
The second is mercola.com. This site reinforces many of the principles of The Zone diet, but with a ton of great information on taking control of your own health. If you're currently on meds for common diseases - high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, auto-immune diseases, I highly recommend subscribing to his 3 times a week newsletter. Even if some of the stuff seems a bit out there, don't discard the rest. There is a ton of great info. You'll be glad you took the time.
The third is the Cyclo-Fuel nutrition plan and the Cyclo-Club. The value of Cyclo-Fuel is that is very similar to The Zone, but specifically targeted to cyclists. There's a seven day fat loss plan designed to break your sugar addiction that's an important first step for most folks. And in the Cyclo-Club there's a seven day fat loss boot camp along the same lines (no need to buy Cyclo-Fuel). The one thing that sold me on Cyclo-Fuel was that before buying it I had been monitoring my blood pressure daily for about a year. It was borderline high - often around 128/80, once in a while even higher. I watched the Soffritto demonstration on Cyclo-Fuel and was intrigued by the flexibility of this cooking technique in creating a number of interesting one dish meals. I tried it and the next day my BP was 112/70. And while following the principles of the plan it has consistently stayed 10 points below what it had been previously. I can't say that everyone will have the same results, since there is so much variability how people eat and their genetics. But for me that made it well worth the price of admission for the plan.
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