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Feature from Health and Sharing.com

By Editor Jane • on June 20, 2009

By: Jill Serbousek and Mandy Polk

We have been receiving fitness and nutrition questions for several weeks, so I thought that we would answer several for you.

Q1: If a person’s goal is to lose 10 pounds, and to get “fit,” what is the best strategy for them?

A1: Create a caloric deficit. This is best done through diet. It is easy to cut out 800 calories but really really difficult to burn 800 more calories.

There are tons of ways to do this.

First you need to know about how much you’re taking in. Keep a food journal for a week. Weigh yourself at the beginning of said week and at the end. If you lose weight, congratulations, you created a caloric deficit by being more conscious of your intake.

If you do not lose weight, then you need to decrease calories by 500 daily to see a loss of 1 lb. per week. 500×7=3,500 which is the amount of calories in a pound.

Exercise enters the equation for a variety of reasons. There are so many health benefits, but an obvious one is muscle retention during caloric restriction. If you tell your body it needs muscle (by strength training) then it will retain it.

Also, exercise will increase your caloric deficit. But remember, diet is #1.

Q2: What if their goal is to lose 100 pounds?

A2: Do the same thing, but for longer!!!

Q3: After a strength training work out with you, I feel like I can do anything. Why is that?

A3: Testosterone increases for approximately 15 minutes post workout. This hormone certainly makes you feel stronger. Also, endorphins make you feel euphoric and powerful. Of course, there’s a sense of accomplishment to be had from improving your performance every single workout and doing the difficult workouts I put you through.

Q4: What are some of the basic nutrition requirements for a middle aged male or female?

A4: Sufficient calories for proper energy. To maintain weight for example, you would eat your bodyweight times 15.

Eat at least 4 times a day to control appetite and blood sugar.

Take a multivitamin.

Eat your bodyweight in protein grams.

Consume the rest of your calories in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and whole grains.

At least two liters of water a day.

Focus on fiber and also, a probiotic may be helpful for digestion.

Q5: How much cardio should you work into a lifestyle fitness program? How do you balance cardio exercise with strength training?

A5: It depends on how much daily activity you get. Sedentary people need to try to get at least 3 cardio sessions a week for health benefits.

For fat loss, I have clients who do no cardio and maintain or improve fantastic body composition. They focus on nutrition and get a great deal of cardiovascular work from their strength training sessions.

Cardio is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to fat loss but is often the focus of many folks’ programs.

diet>resistance training>cardio

I would never recommend cardio more than 5 times a week for general health and even fat loss in most cases.

Q6: What is Borage oil? Why is it important?

A6: Borage oil is the richest GLA source you will find. It contains more GLA than evening primrose oil

GLA is a fatty acid that is an uncoupler of brown adipose tissue.

What this means is that this is a fat that breaks down some of our most stubborn and essential bodyfat to burn for energy. Pretty cool stuff eh?

It also has the other benefits GLA offers, which includes hormonal regulation for females, immune system boost, arthritis and general inflammation relief, slowing progression of MS symptoms, reduction of cholesterol, and health of skin, hair, and nails.

Q7: What about alcohol? Does a daily glass of wine impact a person’s fitness?

A7: It can if you drink too much wine to function the next day and also make poor food choices as a result. The wine can also affect your fitness if you over-drink your caloric requirements. Wine can cause you to lose your inhibitions about food and go off your diet.

However, if it fits into your daily caloric intake and doesn’t impact your fitness decision making then it is absolutely fine.

Q8: What are the safest exercises to do if you have a “bum” knee? Like a meniscal tear?

A8: Anything that exerts a shearing force is a no. Examples would be a leg press or leg extension. Anything else is okay if you feel no pain. If it hurts, don’t do it. For example, if you hurt from stairs, don’t run stairs as part of your workout!

Q9: My spinal surgeon says that strengthening your “core” muscles is the most critical way to keep your back healthy. Why is that?

A9: There are so many different muscles in this region. People develop poor posture and bad habits as a result of underdeveloped muscles in this area. This makes you injury prone or can cause irritation to your spine.

For example, my lower back used to be overdeveloped which caused my spine to arch, or maintain a lordotic position. This caused my facet joints to rub together and now they are arthritic. Focusing on trunk flexion (the opposite of lumbar extension AKA arched lower back) has helped me to eliminate my back pain almost entirely.

Another example is someone who has underdeveloped spinal erectors goes to unload her groceries. When she’s twisting and arching with a load, she injures a disc (slip, herniate, or bulge). All because her muscles were not strong enough to properly support her spinal region. It sounds crazy but it happens all the time.

Q10: What type of nutrition advice do you have for parents with young children?

A10: I think it’s important to encourage a balanced diet but also include “normal” kid things so your children don’t have food fear as they get older.

For example, if you bake fish and cook green beans for dinner, by all means let your kids have some macaroni also. But don’t get into the habit of making three dinners each night either. Teach your children to enjoy their vegetables and eat proteins and healthy fats. Their bodies and their brains will thank you for it,

Also, the most common bad eating habit I see in children is skipping breakfast. Do not let your kids skip breakfast! Their blood sugar will be all wacky, they will be lethargic at school, and it throws off their eating schedule for the rest of the day.

Don’t give your kids a lot of spending/lunch money because who knows what they will be buying and eating. A little trouble on your part goes a long way in establishing healthy lifestyle habits for the whole family.

Also, for the parents of young children trying to be mindful on nutrition, my best advice is to cook in bulk. Take a few hours on a Sunday to bake a lot of chicken and/or fish, broil some red meat (if you eat it), chop up some salad, bake some sweet potatoes, and steam some rice. Pack it all away in tupperware. Then all you have to do is include your additional fruits and veggies at your meals and you’re all squared away!

Include protein shakes, greek yogurt, and string cheese in your diet for quick and healthy protein-filled snacks on the go? Your kids may want to try these, especially the string cheese!

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Carbon12, LLC is a California limited liability company founded by Sohrab Gollogy, MD, an active orthopedic spinal surgeon and Jill Serbousek, a spinal surgery patient. The founders have worked together for over 9 years in providing online patient education information for millions of pre-patient consumers, patients and care-givers. Their most recent project is called Healthandsharing.com, which is a social networking site dedicated to health care and lifestyle issues. Access to quality information and quality health care is Carbon12’s goal. Please join the conversation.

Image by Meredith_Farmer via Flickr