Does Your Body Need A Break?

How to tell when your body needs a break

By Kelly Fitzpatrick

We've all been there: Just when you're getting into the groove of your new workout obsession — wham! Suddenly your knee is killing you, or your quads are hurting in a way that just doesn't feel right. Yep, you've over-worked yourself into an injury — and are suddenly wondering why you didn't take a few more rest days along the way.

So what gives? First, it's important to understand physiologically, what happens when we exercise. "When you exercise, you're causing a bit of trauma to the body," says Noam Tamir, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of TS Fitness New York City. Essentially, when you exercise, you create micro-tears in your muscles. Then, when your muscles repair, they grow stronger.

However, Tamir says, "The more you work, the more you train, the more stress you're putting on the body. If you're not allowing the body to recover, you're causing yourself more harm than good." After all, exercise doesn't just impact your muscles — it impacts your digestion, kidney function, hormone regulation, and more. Before injury strikes, listen to these five signs that might indicate your body needs some time off.

5 Signs Your Body Needs a Rest Day

1. You're always sore.

Sure, a bit of muscle soreness (hello, DOMS) after a particularly strenuous workout is totally normal, especially if you're newer to exercise or you're switching up your routine. But if you're exercising regularly, you shouldn't constantly be feeling sore, says Tamir. Depending on the muscle group, you should always give your muscles 24 to 48 hours to recover between training sessions, and if you still feel sore, it's possible you're overtraining. According to Rice University, "Overtraining can best be defined as the state where the athlete has been repeatedly stressed by training to the point where rest is no longer adequate to allow for recovery." Persistent muscle soreness, getting sick more often, or frequent injuries are all physical symptoms of overtraining. Fortunately, recovery is simple — just take it easy for a few days!

2. You're constantly tired or moody.

Moodiness, depression and fatigue are also indications that you might be overtraining. Most of us have heard that exercise is supposed to make us happier, thanks to a rush of endorphins — a stress-fighting chemical — in the brain. (Fun fact: Endorphins also help prevent you from noticing the pain of exercising. Thanks, brain!) However, those endorphins are also accompanied by cortisol, a stress hormone. And when cortisol levels remain high for an extended period, they take a toll on mental health.

3. Your heart rate is abnormal.

One of the best ways to gauge if you've been overtraining is to check your heart rate, Tamir says. "I'll take my resting heart rate in the morning. If I'm above my normal, then I know that my body is not really ready for a hard workout that day. That's one of the best ways to judge your readiness to exercise." Rice University notes that a lower-than-normal heart rate can indicate overtraining, too. Ready to experiment with this method? Try taking your resting heart rate daily to figure out what's normal for you.

4. You're stiff all the time.

If a few too many days of pounding the pavement leaves you unable to bend over and pick up a penny off the sidewalk without creaking knees, it might be time to take it easy for a while. "If your body doesn't have the proper mobility, you're going to create dysfunction in your movement pattern," Tamir says. In other words, doing the same activity over and over (running, cycling, lifting) without proper recovery is going to cause injury. Tamir recommends stretching and foam rolling on your recovery days to keep your body limber and prevent injury.

5. Your pee is dark yellow.

Yep, we had to go there. While most people are more aware of the need to stay hydrated while exercising, says Tamir, many of us start to exercise when we're already dehydrated. Urine is one easy indication that we're too dehydrated to start working out. Common culprits include having a few drinks the night before exercising or getting up in the a.m. and drinking nothing but coffee. Think you can rehydrate while working out? Afraid not. It takes at least 45 minutes for the body to recover from even mild dehydration.

The best thing about noticing these symptoms? It's a whole lot easier to relax, stretch and drink H2O than it is to recover from an injury or serious overtraining. A little R&R is just what your body ordered!

We've all been there: Just when you're getting into the groove of your new workout obsession — wham! Suddenly your knee is killing you, or your quads are hurting in a way that just doesn't feel right. Yep, you've over-worked yourself into an injury — and are suddenly wondering why you didn't take a few more rest days along the way.We've all been there: Just when you're getting into the groove of your new workout obsession — wham! Suddenly your knee is killing you, or your quads are hurting in a way that just doesn't feel right. Yep, you've over-worked yourself into an injury — and are suddenly wondering why you didn't take a few more rest days along the way.

The Benefits of Ginger to Your Health

The health benefits of... ginger

• By Jo Lewin - Associate nutritionist

The Zingiberaceae botanical family to which ginger belongs includes three spices: turmeric, cardamom and ginger. From ancient India and China to Greece and Rome, the rhizome (root) of ginger has been revered as a culinary and medicinal spice. Gingerbread, ginger beer and preserved ginger are all familiar products. But ginger is more than a seasoning - its medicinal properties have been valued and used throughout the ages.

Identifying ginger...

The ginger plant is a creeping perennial with thick, tuberous underground stems and an ability to grow up to one metre in height. Cultivated mainly in tropical countries, Jamaican ginger (which is paler) is regarded as the best variety for culinary use. According to Chinese tradition, dried ginger tends to be hotter than fresh.

Origins...

Native to southeastern Asia, India and China, ginger has been an integral component of the diet and valued for its aromatic, culinary and medicinal properties for thousands of years. The Romans first imported ginger from China and by the middle of the 16th century, Europe was receiving more than 2000 tonnes per year from the East Indies. The top commercial producers of ginger now include Jamaica, India, Fiji, Indonesia and Australia.

Ginger is available in various forms:

• Whole fresh roots. These provide the freshest taste.
• Dried roots.
• Powdered ginger. This is ground made from the dried root- Preserved or 'stem' ginger. Fresh young roots are peeled, sliced and cooked in heavy sugar syrup.
• Crystallized ginger. This is also cooked in sugar syrup, air dried and rolled in sugar.
• Pickled ginger. The root is sliced paper thin and pickled in vinegar. This pickle, known in Japan as gari, often accompanies sushi to refresh the palate between courses.
   

A 10g serving of fresh ginger
 

4.6 calories	0.2g protein	0.1g fat	0.9g carbohydrate	0.0g fibre

 

The benefits of ginger tea

Ginger tea is great to drink when you feel a cold coming on. It is a diaphoretic tea, meaning that it will warm you from the inside and promote perspiration. It is also good when you don't have a cold and just want to warm up!

To make ginger tea (for nausea)...
Steep 20-40g of fresh, sliced ginger in a cup of hot water. Add a slice of lemon or a drop of honey if you fancy.

The origin of ginger ale...

In English pubs and taverns in the 19th century, bartenders put out small containers of ground ginger for people to sprinkle into their beer. And it was the ancient Greeks who prized ginger so highly that they mixed it into their bread, creating the first gingerbread.
 

Research

The many curative properties of ginger are widely researched. Used on the skin it can stimulate the circulation and soothe burns. As a diaphoretic it encourages perspiration, so it can be used in feverish conditions such as influenza or colds. The root, which is the part of the plant most widely used in alternative forms of medicine, is rich in volatile oils. It is these oils that contain the active component gingerol.

Soothes digestive system...

Historically, ginger has a long tradition of being very effective in alleviating discomfort and pain in the stomach. Ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative, a substance that promotes the elimination of excessive gas from the digestive system and soothes the intestinal tract. Colic, and dyspepsia , respond particularly well to ginger.

Nausea...

Gingerroot appears to reduce the symptoms associated with motion sickness including dizziness, nausea, vomiting and cold sweating. Ginger has also been used to treat the nausea and vomiting associated with mild symptoms of pregnancy sickness.

Gingerols...

Ginger also contains very potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. These substances are believed to explain why so many people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis experience reductions in their pain levels and improvements in their mobility when they consume ginger regularly. Gingerols inhibit the formation of inflammatory cytokines; chemical messengers of the immune system.
 

How to select and store

Fresh ginger can be purchased in most supermarkets. Mature ginger has a tough skin that requires peeling. Fresh ginger can be stored in the fridge for up to three weeks if it is left unpeeled. Whenever possible, choose fresh ginger over dried since it is superior in flavour and contains higher levels of the active component gingerol. The root should be fresh looking, firm, smooth and free of mould with no signs of decay or wrinkled skin. If choosing dry ginger, keep it in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark dry place for no more than six months.

Safety

Ginger is very safe for a broad range of complaints, whether it is taken in a concentrated capsule form, eaten fresh or sipped as a tea or ginger ale. Ginger contains moderate amounts of oxalate. Individuals with a history of oxalate-containing kidney stones should avoid overconsuming ginger. If you're unsure or concerned whether it is safe for you to consume ginger always consult your doctor.

Lose Weight and Keep It Off

How to lose weight and keep it off

• By Victoria Taylor - Senior dietician - British Heart Foundation

Maintaining a healthy weight is a key consideration for good health. However, when many of us try to drop a few pounds we go about it in the wrong way. Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at The British Heart Foundation, talks diet myths, how to lose weight the right way and how to keep it off for good...

Your weight can make a difference to your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Being obese (having a BMI of 30 or greater) is a risk factor, but weight is also linked to other conditions like high blood pressure, andtype 2 diabetes, which can also increase your risk of CHD. 

If you’re not sure if you need to lose weight then knowing your BMI can be a good starting point and help you figure out whether you are the right weight for your height. Check your waist circumference too as your body shape is also important. Carrying too much weight around our middle increases risk, even if BMI is within the healthy range.

When it comes to getting the weight off, everyone wants to lose weight quickly, and there are many diets out there promising instant results. But while they might work in the short term, more often than not they are difficult to stick to and so the weight quickly comes back on. Look out for some of these common diet myths and fads to help you tell the difference between a faddy crash diet and one which will help you lose weight at a sensible rate and keep it off...

Myth 1. Skipping meals will save calories

Skipping meals, can make you feel tired and hungry, meaning you'll be more likely to reach for high-fat, high-calorie snacks, or compensate with bigger meals when you do eat. It’s also harder to make a healthy choice when you are very hungry. Get into a regular pattern when it comes to your meals and plan ahead to make sure you look forward to tasty and healthy options.

Myth 2. Restrict certain foods

If you eat nothing but celery or oranges all day long for a week you will, of course, lose weight. But fad diets will quickly become boring and won’t be effective in the long run. That’s just as well as while they will be low in calories, they are often lacking in the full range of nutrients your body needs to function properly in the long term. If you need to take vitamin and mineral supplements alongside a diet plan then that’s a clue that it might not be providing you with all the nutrients you need. It’s not necessary to starve to lose weight -making small changes you can stick to is the key to long term success. 

Myth 3. No treats

Depriving yourself of all the foods you enjoy won’t work and banning certain foods often makes us want to eat them even more. You’ll eventually give into temptation and abandon your efforts and this can lead to feelings of guilt and failure. Remember, one slip does not have to mean a fall and there's no harm in allowing yourself a treat now and again. Plan to have small amounts of the foods you love and savour every mouthful. 

Myth 4. No eating after 8pm

It doesn’t matter when you eat if you are eating too much – a calorie is a calorie at any time of the day! It's healthier for your digestive system not to eat a heavy meal before you go to bed but a late dinner will not make you any fatter than an early one. 

Myth 5. Lose your belly fat / bingo wings / thunder thighs

As unfair as it may seem, we can’t pick and choose where we gain or lose weight from. When the body loses fat, it is lost throughout the body. Focusing on one area of when exercising may develop better muscle tone in that area but it will not remove more fat.

Myth 6. Certain foods help you burn fat

No foods can actually help you to burn fat. The important thing is eating less calories (energy) than you are using, rather than eating specific foods that are thought to have special properties. 

Myth 7. Carbs are fattening

Gram for gram, carbohydrate has less than half the calories of fat. However, you do still need to keep an eye on your portion sizes and choose the right types of carbohydrate. Opt for wholegrains like oats, brown rice and wholemeal bread and pasta rather than white versions or sugary food and drinks. Watch out for high calorie additions too. Fillings and toppings commonly added such as creamy sauces on pasta and butter or cheese on baked potatoes. 

Myth 8. No snacking

Planning healthy snacks between meals can help you to control your appetite. Fruit, vegetables, crudites and low-fat yogurt are great choices. 

Myth 9. Low-fat only

Don’t rely on low-fat meaning low-calorie. Replacing fat with other ingredients can still result in a product with a high calorie content. Don’t be fooled – check the label. Quantity is also important, you won’t cut back on calories if you eat twice as much of a low-fat product as a full-fat one. Pre-packaged, low-fat foods are also often high in sugar and preservatives, which can be detrimental to health. Natural fats found in nuts, seeds, fish and avocados are actually key for glowing skin and reducing the risk of heart disease.

Myth 10. Intense exercise regimes

You don’t have to run a marathon to benefit from being more active. Even low intensity activity will help use up more energy. Walking, gardening or doing housework can make quite a difference

So how do you lose weight for good?

While any weight loss will require a change to eating habits, it shouldn’t mean missing out on nutrients or cutting out whole food groups. Aim for regular meals and abalanced diet but also take care with your portion sizes. You might be eating a healthy balance of foods, just too much of it. Changes to your food aren’t the only thing to consider either. The most effective weight loss approaches combine changes to diet with increased physical activity and also address some of your behaviours around food to help you understand your own eating pattern and responses to food at different times or in certain situations.

Diets that involve removing – or severely limiting – specific foods or food groups that are nutritionally important are not going to be a long term solution. The more extreme high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets limit fruit, vegetables and fibre, particularly in the early stages, while faddy diets based on single foods (cabbage soup, anyone?) involve eating a lot of one type of food and not much of others. Some diets also drastically limit calorie intake so you get results fast. However, a very low-calorie intake can leave you tired and hungry, so you give up, regaining the weight as quickly as it came off.

National guidelines recommend that, for sustainable weight loss, a reduction in calorie intake of about 600 a day is needed. This could lead to a weekly weight loss of around 0.5kg (1lb). While it may not sound a great deal next to the promises of many quick-fix diets, it allows you to incorporate healthy eating habits into your lifestyle permanently, so you’re more likely to keep it off for good.

Jumpstart Your Weight-Loss Journey with these 11 Things

11 Easy Things You Can Do TODAY to Jumpstart Your Weight-Loss Journey

Getting going is the hardest part. Here’s how to make it easier.

BY K. ALEISHA FETTERS

Every day, we say “I’ll start tomorrow.” But if you follow these 11 simple strategies today, tomorrow really will be the day.

ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU REALLY WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT

If you’re going to quit your junk-food habit and change your lifestyle for good, you are going to need a deeper source of motivation than “I want to fit into a size two,” says Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., senior science advisor at Elements Behavioral Health and author of Body For Life For Women. So ask yourself: Why do you want to fit into a size two? The most motivating reasons are intensely personal, she says. Maybe your best friend has asked you to hike Machu Picchu with her, you can’t keep up with your kids any more, or you want to feel better about yourself.

WRITE DOWN YOUR GOAL

It takes 10 seconds and ups your chances that you’ll meet your goal by 42 percent, per research from Dominican University. “Women suffer from wellness amnesia,” says Peeke. “Life is overwhelming, so it’s easy to shift our focus from healthy living to other things.” By writing down your goal—and keeping it where you can see it each and every day—you’ll keep it in the forefront of your mind, right up there with your other priorities.

RAID YOUR KITCHEN

Open the refrigerator, every cabinet, and every drawer. Then as yourself the following: When I eat these foods, will I feel loss of control? Will my body feel bad physically after I eat them? If the answer is yes, throw them out, says Peeke. They’re your trigger foods, and if they are left in your kitchen, you risk overeating, stalled weight loss, and, most importantly, an unhealthy relationship with food. Sure, in a perfect world, you would remove all refined, processed foods from your kitchen. But that's not realistic—and these trigger foods are the most important to ditch, she says.

THINK THROUGH YOUR TROUBLE SPOTS

And no, we don’t mean your tummy and thighs. Consider what has caused you weight-loss problems in the past, whether it’s dinners out or emotional eating, says clinical psychologist and diet coach Terese Weinstein Katz, Ph.D. “Just being aware of these issues can help keep you from giving up when you bump into them.”

PREP SOME FOODS

“The more you cook, the easier it is to drop weight and keep it off, period,” says Peeke. But who has time to cook three meals from scratch each and every day? Certainly not us. By prepping healthy foods and meals today, you’ll eliminate the amount of time you’ll spend in the kitchen during the rest of the week, while guaranteeing you’ll eat plenty of healthy home-cooked meals.

TELL YOUR BEST FRIENDS YOUR PLANS

When it comes to weight loss, having accountability from the get-go is huge. But, at the same time, friends who take it too far—guilt tripping you when you do splurge, etc.—aren’t going to help you have a healthier relationship with food, says Peeke. “You have to make sure the people you tell about your desire to lose weight are people you care about and care about you in a gentle way,” she says. For instance, when a server sets down a basket of bread on the table and you start biting your lip, which of your friends will respond by telling the server, “Thank you, but we don’t need any bread. Could you please take it back?” That’s the friend you should tell about your weight-loss goals.

SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS

“If you have a hair appointment, you aren’t going to break it. You work the rest of your schedule around it,” says Peeke. The same should be true with your exercise time. So instead of trying to fit workouts into your free time (who even has free time, anyway?), plan a week’s worth of workouts today. Use pen, not pencil.

MAKE A VISION BOARD

“Women are visual,” says Peeke. “Visual reminders of what we want to achieve light us up like there’s no tomorrow.” So tape some motivating mantras and pictures to a board to remind you of what you want to achieve. Consider pictures of you from when you were at your fittest or pictures of things you want to achieve—like a half-marathon finish line. Whatever you put on your board should build you up and make you feel like, yes, you’ve got this.

BUY SOME CUTE WORKOUT CLOTHES

“If you wear nice clothes at work or on a date, it makes you feel good. It’s the same thing in the gym,” says Peeke. And the better you feel about going to the gym, the more often you are going to do it. Go online or hit up the mall: Look for fun, flattering, and comfortable workout pieces that fit your body as it is now, she recommends. As it starts changing, you can reward yourself with some more shopping.

PLAN SOME SMALL, TOTALLY DOABLE CHANGES

Trying to completely overhaul your lifestyle sets you up for failure and discouragement, says Katz. A better plan: being honest about the small changes that you are willing and able to make starting tomorrow. Can you eat more servings of vegetables? Can you take a 15-minute walk after lunch? What about cutting back on happy hour? What are you really up for doing, and what’s just a pipedream? It’s okay to admit that, no, you aren’t willing to forgo Sunday brunches. Being realistic sets you up for awesome, “I can totally do this!” moments that are so critical to long-term success, she says.

Problem Eating and How to Tackle It

The kindness cure - a new way to tackle problem eating

by Paula Goodyer

Fat shaming misses the point – and the problem.

We all know by now (or at least we should) that fat shaming is more likely to make a weight problem worse, not better. Yet for some people who find it hard to control their eating, the voice of condemnation doesn't just come from the outside; it's also inside their head.

But a new approach that can help people silence their inner critic is giving some problem eaters more control over their eating. Called compassion-focused therapy or CFT, it teaches people to be kinder to themselves and is well-suited to problems with body image and eating, says Perth-based psychologist Melanie Greenfeld, many of whose clients are overeaters.

"Overeaters are very hard on themselves, especially binge eaters, so I try to help them develop a more compassionate relationship with themselves instead. It starts with getting them to listen to how they talk to themselves. They often say they're fat, lazy or hopeless because they've eaten too much or been unable to stick to a diet, yet that's not how they'd talk to other people. The second step is to practise changing the language from judgmental to comforting:  'OK, you ate a brownie – it's not the end of the world'," she says.

While sceptics might think this gives the green light to eating more, Greenfeld says it has the opposite effect.

"Studies have found that, with practice, it acts like a circuit breaker because it stops the feelings of shame and guilt that make someone feel so bad that they turn to food to make themselves feel better. It's a way of self-soothing that doesn't involve eating," she says.  

"It's not about encouraging people to keep overeating; it's taking a different approach. I work with people who are obese and they're often faced with health professionals who wave a finger at them and tell them to stop eating so much – but this doesn't tackle the problem. There's a reason why people overeat and it's often emotional. Self-compassion doesn't involve judgment; it's about trying to identify what we're feeling and why and asking ourselves how we can respond to our distress with kindness and understanding."

CFT also gets people to recognise that we're all part of a common humanity, sharing the same experiences of stress, failure and disappointment, "Greenfeld adds.  "Overeaters often feel very isolated, and normalising these experiences helps them realise they're not alone."  

In Australia, CFT is in its infancy. But in the US and in Britain – where it was first developed by Paul Gilbert, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Derby who works in mental health  within Britain's National Health Service – it's more widely used, Canberra-based psychologist Marie Bloomfield says.  

"It's a way of  helping people get control over negative emotions – when people learn to practise self-compassion, it helps activate the brain's soothing system and promotes a sense of calm. It can be used as a complementary therapy along with cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness or it can be the core therapy; it depends what the person needs. It gives people an extra skill for dealing with the kind of negative thoughts that go with depression, anxiety and eating problems. It's also helpful for other problems where people are typically hard on themselves like drug and alcohol abuse or compulsive obsessive disorder, says Bloomfield who runs regular workshop on compassion-based therapy in Sydney and Canberra.

"What do you normally do when a good friend is upset? Most us would listen, give support and show that we care because we know it can help them bear whatever it is that's troubling them. But when we're the ones struggling with disappointment or failure we tend to be self-critical and blame ourselves."

Still, many people find self-compassion difficult.   

"Some people feel that they're not 'worthy' enough and are better at being compassionate to others than they are to themselves, " Greenfeld says.

It's also easy to look at this approach and think that it smacks of self-indulgence but   a growing body of research has linked self-compassion to greater resilience, and less anxiety and depression.   

"People with self-compassion are more likely to bounce back; they have the ability to normalise failure and disappointment and be more realistic with own goals," Bloomfield says. "Studies have found that self-compassionate students who fail exams for instance are more likely to try again. It's the difference between treating yourself like the nasty maths teacher at school who said you were hopeless and a good life coach who offers support and encouragement."  

Lose Weight and Keep it Off

The Very Best Way To Lose Weight&Keep It Off

Introduction

A positive attitude is very important for successful weight loss and weight management. To lose weight permanently, you must make a commitment to gradually adopt a healthier way of life.

You can control your weight. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories or burn up more calories than you need. The best way to lose weight is to do both.

Following a very low calorie diet can leave you feeling deprived and can increase the temptation to binge. Often, very low calorie diets make you lose muscle instead of fat. You are then left with a body that jiggles instead of one that is smooth and toned. Exercise helps you keep the muscles and lose the fat.

Very low calorie diets also lack many important nutrients, putting you at risk of becoming malnourished. Most importantly, research shows that people who follow these diets usually gain all their weight back. People who lose weight slowly by eating less and exercising more tend to keep the weight off.

Determine your BMI

There are several ways of measuring your ideal body weight. One of the most popular methods to gauge whether or not you are overweight is the body mass index (BMI). The BMI uses a mathematical formula that measures both a person's height and weight in determining obesity. To calculate your BMI, multiply your weight by 703, and divide the answer by your height in inches. Divide this figure by your height again.

(Weight in Pounds x 703) / (Height in Inches) = BMI

For example, a 250-pound person at 5’10" would have a BMI of 35.86. People with BMIs of 25 and above are considered to be overweight. Having a body mass index over 30 places you at risk for developing obesity-related medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. A BMI over 40 indicates that a person is morbidly obese.

How many calories do I need?

Everyone's energy needs are different, but there are ways to estimate how many calories you need. One easy method is based on your activity level. Decide whether your activity level is low, moderate or high. Pick one of these definitions:

• Low -- You don't participate in any regular physical activity, or you are involved in recreational activity only on the weekends.
• Moderate -- Your physical fitness program includes aerobic activity for 30 to 60 minutes at least three times a week.
• High -- You exercise vigorously for 60 minutes or more at least four times a week.

Next, find your activity factor by using the chart on the right. Look for the number where your activity level matches your weight status. Multiply this activity factor by your weight to estimate how many calories are needed to maintain your current weight.

To lose weight: Subtract 250 calories to lose 1/2 pound per week. Subtract 500 calories to lose 1 pound per week.

	Low Activity	Moderate Activity	High Activity
Adapted from Esvelt B and DeHoog S: Clinical Nutrition, Volume I. Enteral and Tube Feeding. W.B. Saunders, 1984
Underweight	16	18	22
Normal weight	14	16	18
Overweight	11	14	16

Making every calorie count

The Food Guide Pyramid is an excellent tool for making sure you are meeting your nutritional needs while trying to lose weight. With the proper balance of foods, you can lose weight and improve nutrition. For an online resource, go to www.mypyramid.gov.

Keeping track

One way to ensure that you are eating healthy is to keep an accurate food journal. Write down everything you eat and drink, including serving sizes/portions. Be honest and accurate, otherwise the journal is not helpful. Keeping a record will help you learn about your eating habits and help you assess the food choices you make.

Putting it all together

In addition to changing your diet, mildly restricting calories and keeping track of what you eat, it is very important to include exercise as part of your weight loss and weight maintenance efforts. Discuss with your physician what is the best exercise for you, but make a point to exercise.

Presidential Sports Award

The Presidential Sports Award program was developed by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1972 in conjunction with national sports organizations and associations. The purpose of the program is to motivate Americans to become more physically active throughout life. It emphasizes regular exercise rather than outstanding performance. It is important that participants over the age of 40 who have not been active on a regular basis undergo a thorough medical examination before undertaking any physical activity program.

The challenge

The challenge of the Presidential Sports Award program is for Americans to make a commitment to fitness through active and regular participation in sports and fitness activities. Earning the award means that an individual has put in time and effort to meet the challenge of personal fitness. The award recognizes this achievement and the fact that the individual is part of a nationwide effort toward a healthier, more vital America.

The award

Awards can be earned in any of numerous sports/fitness activities--such as roller skating, bicycling, dancing, swimming, walking, golf or t'ai chi--and individuals can earn as many awards in as many categories as they like. See www.presidentschallenge.org for more information.

Some things learned to date:

• Those who have achieved successful weight loss report making substantial changes in eating and exercise habits in order to lose weight and maintain their losses. On average, registrants report consuming about 1400 kcal/day (24 percent calories from fat) and expending about 400 kcal/day in physical exercise. Walking is the most frequently cited physical activity.
• The average registrant has lost about 60 pounds and kept it off for about 5 years.
• Two-thirds of these successful weight losers were overweight as children, and 60 percent report a family history of obesity.
• About 50 percent of participants lost weight on their own without any type of formal program or help.
• Successful weight losers appear similar to normal weight individuals in terms of resting metabolic rate.