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Guest author and fitness expert, Kathy Ekdahl shares her secrets to loosing that extra weight.

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Q-    Which weight loss programs and/or diets do you recommend?

A- There is no one weight loss program that I recommend to my clients, and in fact, for some clients, I do not recommend any specific diet or weight loss program at all! The research is quite clear: close to 85-90% of the people who lose weight via a diet or “weight loss program”, gain all the weight back, and more. This is a pretty sad statement about the efficacy of the programs and diets that are out there.

In comparative research studies, it has been shown that Weight Watcher’s is the most successful, not because of any specific nutrition or diet recommendations, but because of its well known support system. It is the support system which is an absolute must for those of you trying to lose significant amounts of weight- so this is where Weight Watcher’s really wins! But, amazingly, the average weight loss per year of Weight Watchers is less than 10 pounds, and this is the most successful? Cleary, we are not getting things right here!

I generally do not recommend weight loss programs that have pre- packaged foods. These are often preservative and salt filled, and I personally believe that preservatives, salt, extra sugar, and other processed foods must be eliminated from the diet to achieve permanent weight loss.  Also, what tempts people to try these diets- being told what to eat and when- is also the downfall of these programs. We need to learn to make proper choices for ourselves rather than relying on someone else telling us what to eat. I also do not recommend high protein/high saturated fat/ low carb programs (Atkin’s) either.  I do think that it is too restrictive, not enough healthy foods, and the research is still not conclusive about whether it raises or lowers  cholesterol and lipids. But, having said that, I do believe that for some people, beginning a healthy diet may need to be jumpstarted with a specific diet/ program.

The one diet I do recommend is the South Beach Diet. It is closest to the principles that I ask my clients to adhere to:
-    healthy fats
-    low refined carbohydrates
-    plenty of lean protein
-    lots of vegetables, some fruits
-    Multiple small meals with snacks in between

But even the SB diet goes too low in calories initially, and recipes are a bit cumbersome- so nothing is perfect! And, no matter what “diet” or “program” you go on-  you must be able to maintain that type of eating forever- or you’ll gain the weight back.
The final answer- choose a program you can stick with and is easy to plan and cook for. Avoid diets that restrict one food group or go too low in calories- inevitably these backfire. And, allow yourself a cheat meal each week. This can help you get over the boredom of dieting.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at: kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com.

Guest author and fitness expert, Kathy Ekdahl shares her secrets to loosing that extra weight.

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Q: Why do we gain weight when we age? I exercise and eat the same as I always have, but I am still gaining weight?

There are many factors involved in why we gain weight in our middle age and, in many cases, we can control these factors. What we can not control, is that we all will age. We can slow things down, or accelerate them with our lifestyle choices, but aging is a major factor for weight gain. One primary reason is that, as we age, we lose muscle tissue through a normal (but not optimal) process called sarcopenia. Since muscle tissue drives our metabolism (as we talked about last week), sarcopenia results in a slow down of our metabolism and hence a gain of body fat.  With this loss of muscle tissue, since our metabolisms are slowed, we can eat the same amount of food as when we were younger, but unfortunately now gain weight. This is complicated by the fact that many middle age exercisers rely only on cardiovascular exercise like walking or biking for fitness. Unfortunately, cardiovascular exercise does not add muscle tissue, so this is no longer enough to keep body fat at bay.

Another factor to consider is that aging also causes us to lose other aspects of fitness as well as joint health, so our exercise programs tend to diminish and become less intense out of fear of injury, or fear that “we are too old” to be exercising vigorously. Yet, this is what many of us need to add back lost muscle tissue!

The bottom line is that we need to be doing strength training exercises 2-3 days a week. Strength training is appropriate for almost everybody in some form, and with proper training and progression, all ages can add muscle tissue and resulting strength and power, while reducing risk of injuries. Oh yeah… and lose body fat in the process.

Lastly, take note of what I mentioned above; that we can choose to speed the aging process up, or slow it down, through our lifestyle choices. Exercise, eating well, not smoking, drinking in moderation, taking the proper supplements, will all help you age gracefully.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at: kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com.

This post is part 2 of “Sensuous Soups on a Shoestring” by contributing author: Christine Phoenix Green. Click here to read Part 1.

To create a Sensuous Soup, there has to be an Intentionality to deliberately create something DELICIOUS  FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. When I cook a soup, I always have an Intentionality before I start. In other words, what is my intention or purpose here?

Sometimes it is to celebrate the gifts of the Earth by eating seasonally. It must be sensuous and enhance the particular flavour of one or more of the season’s signature ingredients. In other words, this might mean delightful trips to your local farmer’s market if you don’t have your own garden, to gather, honor, celebrate and cook your way through the wheel of the year, each period with it’s own energy and spirit. In this way, we are in tune with Nature’s rhythms, which physically, psychologically and spiritually of which we are a part.

Sometimes it is for what I call a magical or spiritual purpose, using  certain vegetables or ingredients for energetic purposes when a person is unbalanced. Continue Reading »

Author: Kelly Martinez

One fancy bottle is labeled as ‘extra virgin olive oil’ and carries a price tag of $37.50 for one half liter. On the shelf below is another bottle – also labeled as ‘extra virgin olive oil’ but its price is $37.88 for three liters – twelve times more product for the same price.

How is it possible for two products of equal quality to sell for such disparate pricing? The answer is simple: It is not possible. When was the last time you saw one egg selling for the same price as a dozen eggs?

Who in their right mind would pay thirty-seven dollars for a half-liter bottle of a product when a three liter bottle of the exact same product, that is its exact equal in quality, is available just a few inches away? Continue Reading »