Should I Take Supplements for Weight Loss: Tis the Question

Think about it, if you're lookin' for that proverbial "Magic Bullet" but your program sucks, then you're just kidding yourself. Unless you're logging everything in your fitness program similar to the way a performance athlete does, then you'll never know if any performance or weight loss supplement you're taking is really helping your efforts or not.

As a Houston personal trainer there's a few things I'd like for you to keep in mind. Only some of the supplement companies' products will give you any real benefit, contrary to what they have led you to believe. Additionally, at best, those that do, will give you only a whopping one to three percent improvement. Cool, huh...NOT!

Something else that is a little known fact to most folks is that ninety plus percent of their products don't have any real positive effect at all...and some may even have a negative effect instead. Even cooler, huh? Furthermore, a good portion of the companies don't have a lot of science behind their products to back up their claims. But consider this foremost: if you're not tracking your exercise and diet correctly, or worse yet, you don't have a set program in place, then don't waste your hard earned money.

This is because you simply will not have a clue as to whether or not you are just getting a temporary placebo effect or what. Sadly, by the time you figure out that the Pixie Dust you've been taking hasn't done a darn thing to enhance your performance or weight loss efforts, it may be several months down the road. Guess what? That's already been factored in by the supplement companies. Guess what else? They are already there at the crossroads waiting for you with a smile and lots of "Bling Bling Ads". Ever wondered why you see so many "Brand New Whiz-bang "products coming at you each month? Yep, that new one that caught your eye while being touted the other day online is just THE ONE performance or weight loss supplement to do the trick and just has to be what's missing in your program. Right? Wrong! Don't get sucked in my friend!

And please, remember, that if you are not documenting as much as you can in your fitness program and I mean taking regular body compositions and tape measurements, recording sleep patterns, meal timing, nutrient timing, the time of day you exercise, your exercise choices and the duration and intensity of exercise etc., you simply will not have the information necessary to make an informed choice. Just don't go for the hype. Remember, a performance athlete who is on their game will know pretty quickly whether or not a supplement is helping. In their world one to three percent is huge and could definitely be the difference between winning or losing in their chosen sport.

So what should be in your supplement regime? Omega 3's, a good multi vitamin, minerals, anti-oxidants and such will give you a good base and you should take a hard look at that and get some of these in your life. There are some very good products out there. Additionally, you should evaluate your protein intake levels. If you simply cannot get the protein in each day that you need from food, then using protein powders can be a great way to get in the protein your body requires.

As a Personal Trainer in Houston, I always start out by getting my clients to look at all of these nutritionals and I highly recommend they make them part of their lifestyle. After, and I do mean only after you've established a solid exercise plan, a consistent diet, a realistic supplement program and most importantly are getting real results, you could then try to pick it up a notch by trying out a performance or weight loss supplement. Be sure you choose one that has a proven long term track record, as well as a decent amount of peer reviewed data behind it. Stay away from the hyped up supplements that have no real verifiable science behind them.

Another heads up, look carefully at the ingredients when you are looking at the product you are wanting to try. You might just get a big surprise! It has been my personal experience to find that it is not uncommon for many companies to put far less of a particular ingredient in their product than what the research called for.

You should always test out a supplement individually to see how it impacts your results with your body and remember to not get sucked into buying several at one time. All you'll have at the end of the day is total confusion and an empty wallet if you by chance get pulled in to doing so. This is so because, should you get some positive results, you just will not know which of them is doing the trick. Conversely, should your results lack luster altogether, you will not know if one of the supplements canceled out the others or not. Just go at it one supplement at a time so things do not get muddied up. Also, keep in mind some supplements don't always work the same for all people.

For instance, Creatine is an excellent example of that very same phenomena. Creatine has an incredible number of studies as well as an enormous amount of data behind it. Now, if you were to take a cross section of 100 males, on one end of the spectrum the guys there could take a kilo a day of the stuff and get no results at all, (not something I recommend though,) and on the other end of the spectrum those guys can just look at the container and their muscles pop out like no other(just gotta hate those guys!) most males realistically fall slightly one way or the other from the middle and gradate out towards either end. So you can see, it is important for you to test products to see how effectively they work with your particular physiology.

A major must do item that should be on your "to do" list prior to taking any supplement is to check in with your physician to be sure that it will not have any negative effect on you. This is especially true if you are taking any medications that may react with a supplement you are considering. After you've checked in with your Doc and he's given you the go ahead, remember to log as much info as you can around your fitness program as this is key to helping you to determine the effectiveness of the product you're taking.

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Working Out the Bugs

Colds can strike at any time. Wintertime, late spring, early fall. It doesn’t matter.

These nasty bugs can disrupt your schedule and linger for weeks at a time, making it difficult if not impossible, to stick to an exercise program.

And then there's the question of whether you should be exercising at all, or if you should just ride out the worst of it and resume your workouts once the cold has passed.

New research may help make that decision a bit easier. Scientists at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., gave 50 healthy students ages 19 to 29 an upper-respiratory virus.

Sixteen students were instructed to remain as sedentary as possible while the remaining 34 exercised moderately for 40 minutes per day.

Both groups were told not to take any cold medications.

After 10 days, researchers found no differences in the duration or severity of symptoms between the two groups. While the exercise didn’t speed up recovery, it didn’t slow it down either.

Previous studies have found that regular, moderate exercise is effective for reducing one's risk of catching a cold.

With these new findings, it appears the best medicine may be to continue exercising moderately while the cold runs its course.

Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, November 1998






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Empty Calories

How much nutritional bang are you getting for the calories you take in?

The term "empty calories" refers to calories that have no nutritional value aside from providing energy. Not that energy is anything to sneeze at -- but if you're watching your weight and making food choices based on the number of calories, you might as well get as many "bonus" nutrients as you can -- protein, vitamins, minerals, and so on -- from the foods you choose.

Easy example: compare a cup of milk to a can of (non-diet) soda or a glass of wine. They all provide about 130 calories of energy. But only the milk provides calcium, protein and other nutrients. The soda and wine have sugar or alcohol, but little else that nourishes your body.

The bottom line: eating well means you combat cravings -- that results in healthier eating habits over time.

Give me a call or stop by for more info:

The Body Master
713-773-0077
South Braeswood @ Fondren Houston TX 77074
www.thebodymaster.com

Dealing with Back Pain

There are lots of great articles about back pain, but I'd like to take some time and delve into “where” the origin of the pain is in order to effectively understand it and therefore treat it.

As if lower back pain wasn't hard enough to get rid of, did you know that where you feel your pain probably isn't where the problem is (or the source of where your pain is?) All muscles in the human body have the ability to refer pain.

This means that when a muscle is injured, tight, in spasm or congested it will often cause pain far from where the problem is. And the muscles in the Lower Back are no exception and can certainly have complicated pain referral patterns that can confuse a lot of people, even trained healthcare professionals.

To make this simple, below is a list of common back pain problems so you can decide which fits you:

1. Lower Back pain and stiffness after sitting or bending or going from sitting to standing especially along the lower spine and across the waistline-

Common causes: Hip flexor (muscles in the front of the hips) tightness, spasm or strain, especially in the Psoas muscle which attaches to all levels of the Lumbar Spine (lower back), including the intervertebral discs, and runs forward and down along the front portion of the pelvis to attach at the upper groin area. Also involved is the Iliacus muscle which attaches at the pelvis and runs forward and down along the front portion of the pelvis to attach next to the Psoas muscle at the upper groin area.

2. Localized pain at the Sacroiliac joint (the bump you feel at the waistline just below your lower back) when you stand-

Common causes: the Gluteal (buttocks) area and front of hips. Tightness and or weakness in the Gluteals as well as Hip Flexor (front of hips) tightness/ spasm.

3. Pain radiating down the outside or back of your leg when you stand-

Common causes: Piriformis muscle (a deep muscle located underneath the Gluteals) tightness and or spasm as well as Gluteal tightness, strain and overuse.

4. Pain in Lower Back while you sit-

Common cause: Spasm of the lower back paraspinal muscles (the small stabilizing muscles along our spine.)

5. Pain in buttocks area-

Common causes: Quadratus lumborum (a muscle that attaches to the top back portion of the pelvis and runs up along the spine and attaches to the lowest rib) muscle tightness and piriformis tightness.
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Now this is a small and partial list but it can give you an idea that where you "feel" the pain is not often where the problem is.

Once you can identify the true cause of your back pain, then the solutions are much more obvious. And your time spent trying to fix yourself is better utilized and more effective. Most often treatment for low back pain consists of exercises to help balance muscle imbalances. If the cause is understood, the exercises can be chosen correctly and performed correctly leading to a speedier recovery.

Know Your Numbers

The straight facts on blood pressure and cholesterol #s:

Blood Pressure:

Your target should be:

• Normal blood pressure is below 120/80.

• Pre-hypertension is 120 to 139 (systolic) and/or 80 to 89 (diastolic).

• Hypertension – also known as high blood pressure -- is 140 or higher (systolic) and 90 or higher (diastolic).

Cholesterol:

Here are the numbers to strive for:

• Total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or lower.

• HDL ("good" cholesterol) of 50 mg/dL or higher, if you're a woman, or 40 mg/dL or higher, if you're a man.

• Optimal LDL is 100 or lower, says Mosca. If you have other major risk factors, like pre-existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes, your doctor may want your LDL closer to 70.

• Triglycerides of less than 150 mg/dL.

  
  

  The Body Master
  713-773-0077
  South Braeswood @ Fondren Houston TX 77074
  
  www.thebodymaster.com

Understanding BAD Cholesterol

This might sound a bit technical, but I think its important to understand some details behind your cholesterol to really grasp how to 'control' your cholesterol.

So what is the 'bad' cholesterol?

Low-density lipoproteins are considered as bad cholesterol which circulates throughout the blood streams and they slowly build up within the inner walls of the arteries that connect to the heart and brain. When these low density lipoproteins are combined with other substances, they often form plaque, which can be a thick and hard deposit that can narrow down arteries and make them less flexible. Along with the loss in flexibility, there is a loss in the flow of the blood. This condition is more commonly known as atherosclerosis. When a person is suffering from atherosclerosis, a clot can form and block the narrow arteries which can result in a stroke or even a heart attack.

The levels of low density lipoproteins are better when they are lower, the lower they are, the lower the risk of having a stroke or heart attack is. Overall, there are five categories that the levels fall into, optimal which is less than 100mg/dL, 100 to 129 mg/dL is considered as Near Optimal or Above Optimal, 130 to 159 mg/dL is considered to be Borderline High, 160 to 189 mg/dL is considered as having a High LDL Level, anything above 190 mg/dL falls under something that is Very High.

There are many other risk factors when it comes to heart disease and strokes which can help determine the LDL level of a person as well as give the person a proper and appropriate fitting treatment specifically just for them. A healthy level for one may not always be the same healthy for another friend or person. It is extremely important to be honest and open with your doctors and discuss all available treatments, the differences between levels, and the best plan that works for you overall.

There are many doctors that help profile your cholesterol level which may give you a great starting point as to learning about what you can do to prevent and treat yourself if your LDL cholesterol level is specifically high. Doctors can provide a report with information that you need to fully understand in order to maintain and manage your cholesterol level, the different health risks that may affect you and the available treatments that are open to you.

The Body Master
713-773-0077
South Braeswood @ Fondren Houston TX 77074

www.thebodymaster.com