Winter is Coming - How's Your Vitamin D?!

We all know it's coming and the last couple weeks, it feels like it's already here. Break out the ice scrapers, gloves, and shovels, winter is right around the corner.

There are many changes to the environment that we must deal with - in addition to that icy cold, if you haven't noticed, it's getting dark at 4 in the afternoon! Everyone knows they should be exercising, eating correctly, and getting their sleep. One factor that many forget about in the cold months is their lack of sunlight exposure and Vitamin D production. It is extremely hard to get sufficient Vitamin D through diet and sunlight alone. Therefore, supplementation is key on keeping your levels in check!

Deficiencies in Vitamin D have been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and depression. Vitamin D is also essential for bone growth and plays an important role in the absorption of calcium (DeNoon, WebMD). Supplementing with 400-1,000 IU a day can help keep your Vitamin D levels in check. Some studies have shown higher dosages to be more effective at keeping your levels where they should be, but starting out on the low end and seeing how you respond is the best way to go.

Have your Doctor check your Vitamin D levels and see if supplementation is right for you! We could all use a little boost through these next few months!

-Eric, Trainer - FT Newtonville

http://www.blogger.com/www.fitnesstogether.com/newton

The Hunger-O-Meter

In my last post titled "Enjoy Your Food AND Lose Weight", (read it if you haven't!), I talked about slowing down when eating as a way to promote weight loss, increase nutrient absorption and promote greater enjoyment of food.

Today I'm going to introduce the Hunger Scale, which is a very powerful tool for discovering one of the most important signals your body gives you: hunger.

The image below is a perfect example of this Hunger Scale. Other examples can be found, but this one is as good as any I've seen. Click on the link to take a look.


http://healthyweight4life.net/sample/hunger_scale.jpg

Here's how to use the hunger scale:

1. Print out the Hunger-Scale.

2. Before eating breakfast, look at the scale and determine what number you are. Make a note of that number.

3. Eat your meal (SLOWLY!). After your meal, wait 20 minutes (do not eat anything in this 20 minute span). Look at the Hunger Scale again and note where you rank now.

4. Do this for every meal for 1 week.

Sound like a pain in the butt? Maybe, but if after one week you dont feel more in tune with your body's signals, I'll be very surprised!


This new level of body/stomach awareness should prove to be very helpful in keeping your nutritional goals far more manageable.

Give it one week and let me know how it goes.



Leo Desforges- Trainer, FT Newtonville

www.FitnessTogether.com/Newton

Simple Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

Sleep is a very important part of our overall health - including weight loss and general diet control! Here are a couple important tips from world-renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin on how to improve your quality of sleep.

Stay away from grains and refined sugar snacks before bed!

Eating grains and refined sugar snacks before bed can seriously disturb your sleep. They raise your blood sugar and then create a reactive hypoglycemia that will awaken you, making it potentially impossible for you to fall asleep again. It is also the main cause why many women wake up before 1AM; refined grains often contain allergens such as gluten which cause the body to produce cortisol which awakens women.

Sleep in a bat cave!

Do your best to sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. Keep in mind that even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disturb your circadian rhythm, your pineal gland's production of melatonin and the gut’s production of serotonin (better known as the happy neuro-transmitter.) Hint: a simple sleep mask can shut out light and make sleep even better! Furthermore, the minimal light rule applies to the bathroom as well - if you need to get up in the middle of the night, keep the light off or use a dim nightlight! Turning the light on when you get up to use the bathroom will instantly disrupt the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. In fact, some researchers even believe that being awake longer than 3 seconds during the night is enough to interrupt melatonin production.

Try these out two quick tips and reap the benefits of better and more sound sleep!

http://fitnesstogether.com/newton

Enjoy Your Food AND Lose Weight!

A simple trick to enjoy your food more (and lose weight in the process):

SLOW DOWN.

Eat your food slowly. Savor the flavor of your food. Truly enjoy it. There are many reasons to SLOW DOWN when eating: more enjoyment of food, greater satiety from less calories (which can help to lose/maintain bodyweight), better digestion and decreased stress.

There are many ways to practice the simple SLOW DOWN method of eating, and a few of my favorites are as follows:

1. Stop multitasking. No eating and driving, TV-watching, blogging, walking etc. Cutting out all those other distractions will not only help you to focus on the incredible flavors, textures and colors of your meal, but also help to reset unhealthy eating habbits such as mindless snacking/nibbling which often lead to caloric excess.

2. Use chopsticks! Personally I eat 90% of my meals with chopsticks (really) and it is a great and simple way to SLOW DOWN. As a nice bonus, you'll look really cool when you go our for sushi and all your friends are struggling with their eattin' sticks and you're elegantly hoisting sashimi.

3. Consciously and deliberately chew, savor, explore, enjoy and experience your meal. Listen to your body's signals as to fullness and learn to stop eating when full. Numbers 1 and 2 above are a great assistance in number 3.

SLOWing DOWN is a skill that takes practice and commitment, but I'm quite sure that as you begin enjoying your food again, you'll begin to reap the rewards.

-Leo, FT Newtonville Trainer

http://fitnesstogether.com/newton