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Mentor The Kid & The CEO
December-22-2010
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I just finished the book, Mentor The Kid & The CEO by Tom Pace. I enjoyed it and will be passing it along to others. It is an easy read especially for reluctant readers. In the back of the book is a list of suggested book titles. As I looked at the list, I realized I've read about half of the titles through standing order. What a cool thing! Dawn
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Read more...
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 Weight Loss Month
Today is the day that most people generally put their weight loss resolutions into high gear. I've done it numerous times and so has almost everyone I know. The operative word is "numerous." We go along for awhile, lose a little weight on some plan, and then slip back into our old habits--we didn't permanently change our lifestyle. You can imagine how frustrating it is to me because I've written at least six weight loss programs. The primary question is this: will you and I have to do the same thing all over again in 2011? I don't plan to and neither does Paula, so I'm dedicating this entire month of January to weight loss.
"But I want to start today!" you're saying? I didn't say you couldn't, but we're going to start with the simplest things today. Every message for the rest of January will build on prior messages, so by February you'll have a lifestyle plan in place that will get you to the weight you want to be. At the end of 2010, you'll be thinking about other goals you can make because losing weight will be done or you'll be well on your way to your ultimate goal. But keep this in mind: the ultimate goal is not a body weight, jeans or dress size. It's having good health. With that in mind, let's begin.
Eat 20% Less
For right now, don't think about carbs or protein or fat. Don't think about eating six small meals a day. Don't eat breakfast if you've never eaten breakfast. All I want you to do is to just eat about 20% less than you do right now. For the engineers and accountants, if you want to weigh or measure what you typically would eat and find out what less 20% is, go for it. For those of us who don't need to be as precise, if you eat cereal in the same bowl every morning, fill it the way you usually would and then take out about 20% of the cereal. Put in less milk but if you put in fruit, keep it the same. If you normally have two cheeseburgers for lunch, throw half of one away. All you're going to do is eat 20% less until we have more information. More about that later.
Here's the simplest way to eat less at home: switch from a dinner plate to a salad plate. Fill it with the same foods you'd normally eat, but you won't be able to fit as much on the plate. If you never take seconds, don't start. If you normally do, keep it proportional to your new plate.
This reduces your stress level by about half. You're not eating things you don't like, you're not choking on rice cakes, you're not drinking lawn clippings from the blender--you're eating the foods you've always eaten, just less of them. Do I want you to eat healthier? Of course I do, but we still don't know what types of foods will work yet. Let's move on to find out how we're going to figure that one out.
Your Genes
Recent research has revealed that there are several genes which may help control how you process and store various energy nutrients such as fat. The same thing is true for the type of exercise program; some of us may benefit more from intense exercise such as intervals, while others may be better off going slower and longer.
Paula and I are taking a genetic test offered by Inherent Health to see what our energy nutrient and exercise genetics are. It will be interesting to see if what I've observed matches the results of the tests: I know I have more energy and eat less when I eat more protein and fewer refined carbohydrates. We'll see if my genetic tendency matches that.
As the month proceeds, I'll dedicate messages to each gene pattern and explain what each means. I'll give you the outline of a meal plan and exercise recommendations for each. It doesn't meant that it will be as precise as saying, "You must eat 53.5% carbohydrates, etc." but it will make it easier to determine what you should eat. When my test results come in, I'll let you know what they are.
You don't have to take the genetic test in order to benefit from what I'm going to write the rest of the month--you'll just have to do it by trial and error. But I'm 58 years old and my lovely wife is 60--enough playing around. I want to do this one more time, get to the weight I want to be, and maintain it. I want every advantage I can get, and that's why I'm taking the genetic test. Once I have the information, I'm going to use that as my primary way of eating. The test is available at www.inherenthealth.com. I have no financial interest in the company, so whether you take the test or not won't make me one dollar. Knowledge is power. If you've been fighting your body to lose weight for many years--and if you're one of the rare people who can't keep your weight up--wouldn't it be good to know if you've been eating the wrongs foods all this time? I recommend you take the test.
Invitation
For those of you interested, I'm introducing The 30-Pound Club in a special message tomorrow. There will be a link to sign up for special messages and a whole lot more. If you have 30 or more pounds to lose, joining The 30-Pound Club will provide an important part of the process--accountability--and also give you some support from others wanting to do the same thing. It will be different from the typical messages even though both are about weight loss. One is information and planning. The other is attitude and motivation.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC |
| Straight Talk on Health |
How will you achieve your health goals for 2011? For some tips that work in real life, listen to Straight Talk on Health at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Eastern Time Zone on WGVU-FM 88.5 or 95.3, or listen live via the Internet by going towww.wgvu.org and clicking on "Listen Live" in the gray bar at the top. |
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The 30 Pound Club
After announcing this on New Years Day, the response has been excellent. It will probably be even better once people open their e-mails in the office tomorrow morning. To join The 30 Pound Club, just follow the instructions below and sign up for The 30 Pound Club e-mail. That's all you have to do for now. I'll send you a special message every Sunday that will help you stay focused on the week ahead.
I'm going to send you another message later this week on how to set reasonable weight loss goals for life. The initial objective is 30 pounds in six months, but you may have a lot more to lose. Or you may not have to lose that much. That's okay. Remember--the primary purpose is to keep us focused on our weight loss goal.
There are a thousand books on how to set goals, but they all come down to four things:
They must be specific
They must be measurable
They must have a deadline
They must be written down.
Goal setting for The 30 Pound Club is fairly easy. The goal is 30 pounds, the scale is the measuring tool, the deadline is June 30, 2010, and by signing up you're putting your goal in writing. But you don't have to use body weight. You could use dress size or jean size or some other way of assessing progress. Whatever way you choose to assess your goal, write it down.
My brother-in-law Steve also reminded me that at times, we're going to fail. Just like a child learning to walk, we're going to fall--maybe a lot. That's okay. The 30 Pound Club is here to remind you to get back up again and keep trying. As the proverb says, fall 99 times, rise 100--you'll make it if you don't quit trying.
Especially this month, be sure you also read the regular message, because I'm writing about weight loss the entire month.
As I put the rest of the pieces in place, I'll let you know. Facebook. A special section on the website. E-mail. If you have questions that relate only to The 30 Pound Club, the special e-mail address is
30poundclub@drchet.com
The Bottom Line
The proverb says the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The journey to losing 30 pounds starts by joining The 30 Pound Club, and here's how to join:
At the very bottom of this message in the fine print, click the link that says Update Profile/Email Address.
Or in the Quick Links box, click Subscribe.
Or at drchet.com, you can click Subscribe at the bottom of the Home page or Current Message page.
All roads lead to this: since you're already a subscriber, you'll get an e-mail from drchet.com with a link to update your profile. Clicking that link takes you to the Update page where you can add the messages for The 30 Pound Club to your profile.
It's easier than it sounds--a few clever people figured out how to sign up before I even sent this invitation. So for all of you 30 Pounders out there, I've got one word: Welcome!
The tag line remains the same:
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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I hope you've been experimenting with eating 20% less. Remember, you don't care about what type of food--just eat 20% less at every meal. The next step is to call, e-mail, or text your physician to ask them whether it's okay for you to lose weight. Whether you have over 100 pounds to lose, you're joining The 30 Pound Club, or even as some of you've told me you need to gain some weight--get your doctor's okay.
What doctor is going to tell you, "No, I want you to stay 50 pounds overweight!" Not a single one, but there are three reasons you should check first.
First, if you take any medications, weight loss can affect the amount you take. Okay, it's the fourth day since you've begun to lose weight so it isn't an issue yet, but it's something to consider, and as your weight comes down, your doctor will want to monitor your meds more closely.
Second, depending on your age and fitness level, your doctor may want to do a few tests before you start to exercise--and you won't be surprised to learn that exercise is going to be an important part of any effort to lose weight. We'll get to that soon.
Third, and most important, your doctor should be your partner in health. We can turn the healthcare system from one of treating disease to one of preventing disease if we make our physicians our partners. Maybe they'll want to monitor your blood pressure or cholesterol to see how your body responds to the new you. Wouldn't it be nice if at some point in the next year they say, "You know something? I think you can eliminate your blood pressure medications." How cool would that be?
We criticize our doctors when they seem to pull out the prescription pad for every complaint. Let's try using them the way they should be used: to prevent us from getting sick in the first place by helping us be healthier. Make the call.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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 Exercise
In Monday's message, I told you to talk to your physicians about losing 30 pounds. While I didn't tell you to ask them about exercise, I'll bet that if you talked to them, they asked you about exercise. If they want to check your blood pressure or EKG before you start, it's a good idea because that gives you a baseline. But some of you didn't call after Monday's message, did you? I'm asking you to do it this time--read the Partners message from Monday again.
Based on your e-mails, some of you are already in the gym or on the bike exercising. Fantastic! For those of you who haven't started yet, I'd like you to get 10 minutes of activity that you don't typically do--right now. Take a 10-minute walk at work. Put in a CD of some lively music and start to dance a little. Get on the elliptical trainer that's in the guest room--just put away the clothes hanging on it first. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something for 10 minutes.
For those of you who like to hurt yourself to prove that you're exercising, I'll take care of you in future messages. But think long term, not just for this month: what are you going to keep doing after you lose weight?
There's no more off time. This is a lifestyle you're building and you're going to do it in order. So get at least 10 minutes a day of movement that you're currently not doing. Start exercising today--right after you call your doctor.
What are you prepared to do today?
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC | |
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 Bits
If I had to select what most of you find most difficult when choosing between eating less and moving more, I'd say it's probably exercise. When you think about it, it makes sense. When you're eating less, like eating 20% less every day, you don't have to do something--you have to do less. From your responses, you're doing it and you're losing weight.
But it's the lack of activity that's hard to overcome; it just doesn't seem to fit in. Maybe it's because you think of exercise as replacing something you'd rather do. It would be easy for me to say, "Get over it and get moving!" That would be a little simplistic on my part, although it's my natural inclination.
Here's what I'd like you to do. For those of you who are finding it difficult to get in some exercise, keep track of what you do during the day. Note when you have at least 30 seconds of waiting time.
Here's an example. On my way back to my hotel room on the 8th floor this past weekend, I could take the elevator or I could take the stairs. I wasn't in a rush, so I took the stairs. It took maybe a minute and a half compared to the 30 seconds in the elevator. That was a bit of time that I filled with activity. Paula fills her bits by practicing dancing--her Cuban motion is great.
Keep track of those bits of time--which means write them down--while you're waiting for something, even waiting for your computer to reboot. I'll talk about what you can do with those bits later. For now, just keep track of when they happen--because they do happen for each and every one of us.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC |
| Straight Talk on Health |
Hear the latest health news on Alzheimer's research on Straight Talk on Healthat 7 p.m. Sunday in the Eastern Time Zone. Listen on WGVU-FM 88.5 or 95.3 or live via the Internet by going to www.wgvu.org and clicking on "Listen Live" in the gray bar at the top. | |
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 Fast Start
From the e-mails and calls I've been getting, many of you are losing weight very nicely just by cutting back your intake by 20%. In fact, some of you have said that you've lost over five pounds in the time since we started, and that's great. There's nothing like getting a fast start on your weight goal.
As time progresses, the rate at which you lose weight will probably diminish; typically the closer you get to your goal, the smaller your weekly weight loss becomes. You'll hear this many times in the next six months, but the solution is to stay the course.
The reason is that weight loss is not linear. You lose, you hold for awhile; you lose and hold again. That's normal. I wanted to tell you that now before it starts to happen.
The whole purpose of this month and The 30 Pound Club is to get to a weight and fitness level we want to maintain for the rest of our lives. There will be no quick solutions, and we will not quit. I know it's overused, but we're in it to win it. What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC |
| Straight Talk on Health |
Hear the latest health news on Alzheimer's research on Straight Talk on Healthat 7 p.m. Sunday in the Eastern Time Zone. Listen on WGVU-FM 88.5 or 95.3 or live via the Internet by going to www.wgvu.org and clicking on "Listen Live" in the gray bar at the top. | |
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 Bit Fills
Rather just listen? Click here: 
Last Monday, I asked you to keep track of the extra bits of time you had in your day that lasted at least 30 seconds, and I told you I'd give you small exercises to do that will burn calories at the least, and if you do them regularly--make them a habit--can increase your fitness level at the same time.
Before I get to the list, keep in mind that some of them may seem silly, and you'd only want to do them when you're alone. But keep this in mind. You're trying to overcome the conveniences of today that have reduced caloric expenditure. Opening a can used to require hand and arm strength as you turned the opener for 15 to 30 seconds. Now, you hook it up to the can opener and eat part of what you're trying to prepare in the time it takes to open. Maybe it was only two or three calories but when you add up all the conveniences that we have today, it adds up to a lot of calories that we're not burning. That's what filling in the bits is all about.
The First 10 Bit Fills
There are rumored to be 50 ways to leave your lover, and I know there are at least 50 ways to increase the calories you burn in those bits of time. I'm going to give you 10 today, and by Wednesday, I'll post the paper with all 50 in The 30 Pound Club section of drchet.com. You don't have to use them all. Some will seem corny or impractical, and maybe you can't do them at work, but you'll find some things to fill those bits and burn some extra calories, and maybe improve your posture and get you fitter at the same time. I won't explain why these will burn calories because that would take forever--to use the old Nike expression, just do it.
When you're standing:
1. Walk or pace when you talk on the phone.
2. Waiting for an elevator, stand tall, belly in, and chest out. Take a 4-second breath in and a 4-second breath and out.
3. Take the elevator to one floor short of your destination and walk up the last flight.
4. I-don't-knows; slowly try to touch your shoulders to your ears, and repeat 5-10 times.
5. Park farther away from where you're going and walk--providing it's a safe area.
When you're sitting in a chair--and it's a given that you're sitting erect with both feet on the floor:
6. Try to touch your elbows together behind your back. Hold for 3 seconds and return to starting position.
7. Take your left arm, place it over your head so that your hand can touch your right ear, then do a side bend to the right. Repeat five times. Reverse hands and bend to the left for 5 times.
8. Do the "pump up the volume" movement 10 times with each arm.
9. Every time you finish writing an email, stand up and sit down 5 times.
10. Breath in and expand your chest as much as you can; exhale and try to have your belly button touch your spine. Repeat 5 times.
And here's one more bit of time you may not have thought of: while you're listening to the Message from Dr. Chet. Most days, there will be a speaker icon in the message--just click on it and get moving as you listen instead of read.
More where those came from. Until then:
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC |
| Straight Talk on Health |
The latest on mammography is this week's topic. Listen to Straight Talk on Health at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Eastern Time Zone on WGVU-FM 88.5 or 95.3 or live via the Internet by going to www.wgvu.org and clicking on "Listen Live" in the gray bar at the top. | |
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 Pre-Load
Rather just listen? Click here: 
I think it's time to start adopting some important habits. Cutting calories by 20% is still an excellent idea, but our goal is to change our lifestyle for good. One of the things that's important is to add fiber to our diet. On top of that, if our timing is good, it may help us control our appetite.
We all need more fiber in our diet. The typical adult needs 25 to 30 grams per day; the average intake is about 12 grams. Here are two simple changes you can make to increase your fiber intake and maybe curtail hunger. So far, no one has complained about being hungry, but at some point, it may happen and you need a strategy to deal with it.
The simplest change is to eat a small- to medium-sized apple about 15 minutes before you eat. It will only be about 75 to 100 calories, but it will contain about four grams of fiber. Research has shown that when people eat an apple, they eat less at their next meal.
The second is to use a fiber cocktail that contains soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber would be inulin or dextrin, and insoluble finer would be psyllium. Use at least four ounces of water, and mix in about a teaspoon of each type of fiber. Drink it down right away because if you let it sit, the soluble fiber will absorb liquid and you'll have to eat it with a spoon. The fiber cocktail will provide six to ten grams of fiber. Just make sure that you drink a full glass of water after the fiber cocktail.
Pre-load your stomach and you may find that eating 20% less is easier than you thought.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC |
| Straight Talk on Health |
Are you insulin resistant? Dr. Chet will look at latest news and research onStraight Talk on Health at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Eastern Time Zone on WGVU-FM 88.5 or 95.3--listen live via the Internet by going to www.wgvu.org and clicking on "Listen Live" in the gray bar at the top. | |
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A Message from Dr Chet
Chromium
The number of people who are overweight is approaching 70% in North America. Concurrent with that rise is an increase in the number of people who are insulin resistant and at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The numbers are not just theoretical; more and more people are being told by their doctors to get their blood sugar under control or start treatment. As a result, I'm frequently asked about the mineral chromium to control blood sugar and help lose weight, so I'm going to go over the research. What you may find out is that chromium can have several health benefits. More about that later.
Overweight and Insulin Resistance
Overweight people tend to become insulin resistant. That means that while they make plenty of insulin, their body does not use it effectively, hence the word "resistant." One explanation is that the insulin receptors are modified in some way and won't let insulin bind to them to bring glucose into cells. If the insulin receptors can be activated again, blood sugar can be controlled by allowing cells to utilize the insulin being produced. The question is how to get insulin receptors to do what they're supposed to do. Before I talk about chromium, let's look at other ways to control blood sugar.
Weight Loss
Weight loss is the simplest solution but not necessarily the easiest. Many people including your author has lost and regained a couple hundred pounds. That's why I started The 30 Pound Club: so all of us can get this under control once and for all by changing our lifestyle. Eat less and move more is our mantra and we're going to continue to strive for that goal. But here's the cool thing: losing and maintaining as little as 5% of your weight can help improve insulin resistance (1). The critical point is to keep trying no matter how many times you've failed, and that's what The 30 Pound Club is all about.
Diet
The typical American diet is high in refined carbohydrates and low in vegetables and fruits--that's a diet with a high glycemic index (GI). Switching from a diet with a high GI to one with a low GI may help improve insulin resistance. Researchers found improvements in insulin resistance in as little as six days when subjects followed a low-GI diet (2). One of the reasons may be that eating refined carbohydrates contributes to the loss of chromium.
Exercise
You've probably heard that if exercise were a pill, it would be the most prescribed medication in the world. There's a reason for that: it can help improve insulin resistance in as little as three days. In a study I conducted at Michigan State University, insulin binding improved in the 72 hours after the initial workout and continued to improve over the course of a six-month study. Walk, bike, swim, dance, or whatever--get moving and stay moving for 30 to 60 minutes every day. And don't forget the Bit Fills, either.
Chromium Research
Vitamin D has been the sweetheart of the medical field for the past couple of years. Research has identified that a sub-clinical deficiency of vitamin D is related to an increase in diseases that were never thought to be related to vitamin D such as depression, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. In my opinion, chromium will be the next nutrient that fits into that category of sub-clinical deficiency.
Chromium is an essential mineral found in very low concentrations in the human body. It's a primary component of a chemical made in the body called glucose tolerance factor (GTF) that works with insulin to activate the insulin receptors, thus allowing glucose to be moved from the bloodstream into the cells where it can be used to make energy. Could insulin resistance be something as simple as a lack of chromium in the diet? Nothing is ever that simple, but according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, up to 90% of all Americans' diets are low in chromium, but few people are deficient in chromium. The problem goes back to what I said about sub-clinical deficiencies: we may be getting enough chromium to just skim along but not enough to really help with blood sugar control.
Dr. Richard Anderson is one of the leading experts in chromium research in the world. In a recent lecture to review the research on chromium and insulin sensitivity, he indicated that poor blood sugar control is only one of a number of maladies attributed to chromium deficiencies (3); elevated triglycerides, decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), hypertension, and visceral obesity are also associated with chromium deficiencies. Put in plain English, what does he mean? He means that if you're deficient in chromium, you may have a tendency to store weight around your waist, your good cholesterol will be low, your blood fats will be high, and you'll have problems with blood sugar. There's also evidence that chromium deficiency contributes to increased cortisol levels, also known to be associated with obesity.
Research on chromium and weight loss has been equivocal. However, while chromium can help with insulin resistance almost immediately, it can take six months or longer for it to help with weight loss. That means that this is one nutrient you should start to take and keep taking long term.
Chromium Picolinate
Chromium picolinate is one of the most researched dietary supplements for helping control blood sugar and losing weight. The research has been equivocal; some researchers found good results while others have not. Part of the reason is that not all subjects in every study were insulin resistant or overweight. That's one of the problems with using nutrients as if they were medication--you give it to healthy people and wonder why it didn't help. Well, they weren't insulin resistant or overweight to begin with, so what was giving them a nutrient supposed to help with? If you don't have a problem, how do you know when you've solved it?
If you already monitor your blood sugar, that's great. If you don't, talk with your doctor about whether it's a good idea for you to do so. Remember, although it might be normal for a long time, you can still be insulin resistant. If you add chromium picolinate to your diet and there's a consistent lowering of blood sugar, it may be just the nutrient you needed together with diet and exercise to get blood sugar under control. Take it long enough and the other symptoms such as belly fat and low-HDL cholesterol may respond as well.
How much chromium picolinate should you take? A reasonable approach would be to use 100 to 200 mcg of chromium picolinate with every meal. Taking it with the meal isn't a big deal because it's not working on that meal. You're trying to raise the levels of chromium in the body, so the timing isn't critical--just take it when you can best remember to take it, but at least two doses during the day.
The question always comes up: if some is good, more has to be better, right? Not necessarily. There's no Upper Tolerable Limit for chromium but that doesn't mean you should over-do it. Most studies use the amounts I recommended above; stick with those because they're best supported by research.
If you want to know more about how reading food labels can help you monitor the nutrients in your diet, I've just posted a new Research Update called Daily Value that explains what you'll find on Nutrition Facts labels. I've also added a BMI chart where you can determine what your body mass index is and what it should be--without doing any math.
The Bottom Line
There are no miracles in a bottle. Losing weight and controlling blood sugar by changing your lifestyle is possible. Approach it in a step-wise manner that includes diet, exercise, and supplementation with chromium--you may find it wasn't as difficult as you thought it would be. But know this: if chromium doesn't work for you, it may be time to discuss other options with your physician. If that means medications, so be it. It's more important to keep your blood sugar under control for your overall health. Do what you have to do. Period.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
References:
1. Mayo Clin Proc. 2008;83(8):897 - 907.
2. Arch of Iran Med. 2008; 11(1): 57 - 64.
3. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2008), 67, 48-53.
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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A Message from Dr Chet
Disease
On a weekend when I'm home, I generally get a cup of coffee and flip channels just to see what the newest infomercials are. This time, I happened upon a Discovery Channel Continuing Medical Education program on bariatric surgery--that covers everything from the lap-band procedure, which is temporary, to a complete gastric bypass, which is permanent.
One of the things that they continually said on the program was that obesity is a disease. I'm not sure about that. How can eating be a disease? I understand their point that uncontrolled eating that resulted in over 100 extra pounds was not healthy. But a disease? It's not like smoking where you can quit altogether--we've gotta eat.
They reviewed some of the people who had surgery and gained back some of the weight. Why did they gain it back even though they had gone to the extreme of having the surgery? Because they never changed their lifestyle. They went back to their old habits, and surgery or not, they gained weight.
We're going to do this the old-fashioned way: eat less and move more. We may have picked up some bad habits, but we are definitely not diseased. It all comes down to one thing:
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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A Message from Dr Chet
Write It Down
I've talked to several readers both live and in email about different approaches they could use in reaching their 30-pound weight loss goals. Like me, they've been around the weight loss block several times and if they couldn't do it last time, they wonder what will make it work this time? If that's your situation, you may be feeling discouraged.
Well, it's time to change that. This is a process, and we have to gather information in order to determine the best approach. What I recommended to those readers and what I'm recommending to you is to write down everything you eat in a journal for the next week or two.
If you've done that before, your eyes maybe rolling back in your head, but hear me out. When you eat, measure or weigh everything you put in your mouth, no matter how low you think the calories are. You weigh what you weigh because of the habits you've had. So indulge me--measure, weigh, and write it down. Then go to www.nutritiondata.com and check out the calories and write those down.
You need a daily caloric deficit of about 500 calories to lose a pound a week. When you add it all up, you may be eating a lot more than you think because you haven't been keeping track or because you've been kidding yourself.
You don't have to keep track forever, and if the 20% approach is working, keep at it. But if you feel your weight loss effort isn't working as well as you'd like, write down what you eat. You may surprise yourself.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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A Message from Dr Chet
Two Special Offers
Promoting products in emails is something I don't do very often. But these two products are both time sensitive, so I wanted you to get the information as quickly and concisely as possible.
Sports Webinar
One of the things that you've always told me was, "Dr. Chet, I just wish I knew what you know!" Really? Do you mean that? If you do, then sign up for the Sports Webinar. Before the festivities begin, I'm going to give you the basics of sports nutrition and training. You'll learn:
►The energy systems of the body
►How to train each energy system
►The basics of energy metabolism:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
►When to eat to maximize training effect whether you want to lose weight, train to run a 5K, or sculpt your body as part of The 30 Pound Club.
When you pay for the webinar, you'll get a special email within 24 hours that will give you all the information you need to join the webinar on Sunday, February 7, at Noon Eastern Time. Space is really limited--you hear that all the time, but only 40 slots are open. You'll get an outline of the webinar to take notes and copies of the slides used in the webinar. You'll be able to see me, hear me, see the slides, and ask questions via email. This is your chance to really learn the basics of sports nutrition and training. Reserve your spot today!
Dr. Chet's Health Tips for Women with Dr. Pam
My latest audio isn't just me alone. I introduced you to Dr. Pam Zelasko; if you haven't listened to to message she wrote, When Should You Have a Mammogram, I urge you to do it now.
For yourself or the women in your life, buy this and listen to what we have to say about the difference in heart attacks in women, hot flashes, bone mineral tests, and even sports bras. Many of the questions you ask me about supplementation, depression, and chronic infections are answered by Dr. Pam and myself. Do you feel like your doctor doesn't listen to you? Dr. Pam tells you how to make the most of your visits with your doctor.
For those of you who know me, you know I'm passionate about reducing the risk for heart disease for both men and women. Breast cancer gets the money, and deservedly so, but heart disease kills more than 12 times as many women every year. I think every woman needs to hear this CD so I'm going to give you an incentive to save your life and the lives of other women. For every Health Tips for Women purchased online between now and February 5--CD or download--I'm giving $1 to the Go Red for Women campaign of the American Heart Association. You'll get the knowledge in the audio to reduce the risk of heart disease for yourself and the women you care about while we support the research that will help make it so. Order copies for every woman you know today.
The Bottom Line
I'm a teacher. It's what I do, it's what I am. These products are designed to teach you what it takes to become healthier and to understand the essentials of sports nutrition. Don't wait--order today!
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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A Message from Dr Chet
Omega-3s
Those of you who have heard me speak and read my messages know that I'm a big proponent of omega-3 fatty acids whether from fish, flaxseed, nuts, or supplements. This past week, an interesting study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association about the benefits of omega-3s from marine sources (1). What hit the headlines were that omega-3s may help delay aging in people with heart disease. I'll review that, but it's what didn't hit the headlines that was cool as it relates to your body weight and overall health.
The Study
Researchers recruited over 1,000 subjects who all had some form of cardiovascular disease. That's important because often when these types of studies are done, they recruit the healthiest subjects and wonder why they didn't see any differences. If you had a heart attack, an abnormal EKG on a treadmill test, an angiogram that showed over 50% blockage, or you'd had a stent, you were asked to join. The researchers drew blood and checked many variables. Two of the primary variables were baseline levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA which are found only in seafood. The other thing they measured was the length of the telomeres in white blood cells. Telomeres are found at the end of the strands of DNA; the longer they are, the more times the cell can reproduce, and that means you might live longer. The reason I say might is that there are other factors related to aging, but this is a big one.
It's important to note a couple of things. They measured the omega-3 fatty acid levels only at the beginning of the study. This was strictly an observational study; they did not track what the subjects ate nor whether they supplemented their diet with fish-oil capsules. You might say, "Why not do the other measures?" The cost of assessing the telomere length cost plenty so while I agree with you, as a former researcher, I understand their problem--sometimes the funding will stretch only so far, and better half a loaf than none.
The Results
The subjects with the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids from seafood in their blood had longer telomeres. Simply put, their DNA was healthier five years after the study started and was better in those subjects with the highest omega-3 fatty acids levels compared with the lowest. Looking at a graph of the data, it was clear: more omega-3s in your blood, the better looking your DNA. But that wasn't all.
Body Weight and Fitness
Those subjects who had the highest levels of omega-3s had the lowest waist-hip ratio. Simply put, they had the lowest amount of fat around their waist. They were also fitter as assessed by a treadmill test--almost 22% fitter. Their blood pressure was lower, and their HDL-cholesterol was higher, all signs of better cardiovascular fitness.
Inflammation
The subjects with the highest omega-3 levels also had the lowest C-reactive protein levels as well as reduced levels of interleukin-6. Together, those measurements mean that they were in a lower state of inflammation.
Don't Get Too Excited, But...
This was an observational study. They measured the omega-3 fatty acid levels in the beginning and tracked the people for five years. We know nothing about what happened to the subjects' diets or their supplementation during that time period, because it wasn't measured. But remember, these subjects all had coronary artery disease before they were asked to be in the study--that means they most likely had changed their lifestyle before the got into the study. That's probably why the subjects with the highest omega-3 fatty acid levels also had much less type 2 diabetes than the lowest group. They probably maintained those healthier lifestyles for those five years between DNA tests. We don't know it, but it's a reasonable assumption.
The analyses the researchers did examined every potential interaction and didn't find anything different other than the initial omega-3 fatty acid levels to explain the benefits. I'm not a fan of handling things statistically but looking at the raw numbers, it's pretty clear that omega-3 fatty acids from seafood have some benefits to weight, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
The Bottom Line
You can wait for another five or ten years, and someone may actually do an interventional study--that means they will give a group of subjects fish oil and the control group a placebo. Then we'll know whether the omega-3s were one of the causes of the health benefits or were just along for the ride as cardiac patients adopted healthier lifestyles all around. Five years later you'll have an answer--if they actually do the study correctly.
Personally, I can't wait that long and I don't think you should either. To me, this is the cherry on top of the health sundae. When you're constructing your new lifestyle, make sure that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil are a part of it. Either eat several servings of cold-water fish every week--I try, but I don't often get there--or take 3 to 6 grams of a quality fish-oil supplement as backup like I do. You still have to adopt those other healthy habits, like eating a better diet and exercising, but the net effect might be you get to hang out in this world a little longer and be a little healthier in the process. What a deal!
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
Reference: JAMA. 2010. 303(3):250-7.
© Chet Zelasko PhD LL
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A Message from Dr Chet
Mindset
Today is the beginning of the second month of 2010. Many of you have told me how you've done eating 20% less and moving a little more. If you haven't, and you have something to share, let me know either by emailing me, or if you've joined The 30 Pound Club, posting your comments to the Wall of the 30 Pound Club Group on Facebook.
Most readers are pleasantly surprised that they're losing weight with such a simple approach. Others of you still feel hungry. That's normal--it's going to take your stomach some time to let your brain know that it really doesn't need as much food as you were used to eating. But the other element of that feeling is that you still have a certain expectation of the volume of food you need to eat and the way you should feel after eating. That's why using the fiber cocktail or the apple is important before meals--you'll get the sense of a fuller stomach with very few calories. The other trick you can try is to eat what you're supposed to eat and then wait; tell yourself you can have more food if you still want it in 15 or 30 minutes. You'll find that the urge to eat more usually passes.
Weight loss is often more mental than physical. True, you're taking physical steps to eat fewer calories and burn more calories, but your mindset may still be that you need more food; never underestimate how powerful your preconceived ideas can be. There are other factors that impact hunger and weight loss such as hormone levels and genetics, but if you keep your head in the game, you can overcome most of those issues most of the time.
Here's my suggestion for your goal for this month: to create the correct mindset about the lifestyle you're going to have. What will you look like? What will you wear, what will you do, how will you feel? Write a description or draw a picture of yourself enjoying your new life. If the picture is strong enough in your mind, your body will follow. It has no other choice.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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A Message from Dr Chet
Force It
The hotel I was in this past weekend in El Paso had a good fitness facility. I had an early flight home and in order to get in a workout, I would have to get up even earlier--not my favorite idea. But I also know this: you never know what travel will bring, especially in winter. So it was either work out then or, most likely, forget it for the day. I got up early, and to be honest, I'm not really Mr. Sunshine when I first wake up. I came up with every excuse in the world why I didn't want to do it. But I just put on my clothes, went to the fitness center, and forced myself to do the Interval Training workout that you can find in the Research Update section of drchet.com. I wish I could say I felt fantastic after the workout, but all I can honestly say is that I felt a small sense of satisfaction. Of course, that's a lot better than guilt.
A single workout really won't have a tremendous impact on our fitness, just like a single meal won't have a big impact our weight. But we have to learn to force ourselves out of that comfort zone that got us where we were. We do that by forcing ourselves to do what we don't want to do.
We want the benefits of the body we're going to have. The price that we have to pay to get there is sometimes doing what we don't want to do--and I can't promise you that you'll feel like Mr. or Ms. Wonderful afterward. It will become easier when it's part of our new lifestyle--until then, we just have to force it on those days when we'd rather do something else. No guts, no glory.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
© Chet Zelasko PhD LLC
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