Who would ever think that working out in the morning or cranking the AC might be the reason you are not suceeding. Check out some of the comon mistakes when embarking on a wellness lifestyle.
Mistake 1: Sleep – Always a go-getter, you work out at 6am. What’s wrong with that? Morning workouts are great – “if you go to bed at 10pm.” In a recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women who slept seven or more hours a night were less likely to put on weight than women who didn’t. Those who slept only six hours a night were 12 percent more likely to gain substantial weight – 33 pounds on average over the course of 16 years! (Women who slept a measly five hours had a 32 percent chance of gaining 30 or more pounds.) Other studies have linked lack of sleep to a higher BMI and have found that it negatively affects levels of the appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin.
Solution: Don’t sacrifice your snooze time - not even for an extra-long run. And quality matters more than quantity, so taking a siesta later won’t help. “In a 20-minute power nap you don’t get into the deep sleep stage,” says Donna Taliaferro, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who conducts research on sleep and circadian rhythyms. “You need to go through the cycles of sleep over a few hours to get the restorative rest that allows your body to work properly.” Bottom line: You’re better off sleeping through your workout every other day than stumbling to a sunrise Pilates class on too few z’s
Mistake 2: A/C and Eating – Do you crank the AC? What’s wrong with that? Al Gore wants you to lay off the thermostat to save the planet. Here’s how it can save (the shape of) you: in a study published in Physiology & Behavior, researchers found that exposure to temperatures above the “thremoneutral zone” – the artificial climate we create with clothes, heating, or air conditioning – decreases our appetite and food intake. “At a slightly uncomfortable 81 degrees, the women in the study experienced a 20% decrease in appetite and ate 10 percent less than at 72 degrees,” says lead author Margriet S. Westerp-Plantenga, Ph.D., a professor of food-intake regulation in the department of human biology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Solution: Instead of cranking the air conditioner everytime you feel a little warm, learn to endure slightly steamier conditions. Hitting the “off” button is well worth it…not only do you save the pounds but the high energy bills as well.
Mistake 3: Weight Management – “logging extra miles on the treadmill to make up for giant meals”. WHat’s wrong with that? When it comes to managing your weight, success is’t 90% perspiration. You can’t achieve lasting weight loss via exercise alone.
Solution: You need a clear idea of how much you should be eating and nothing beats proper meal planning and nutritional guidance. Here’s and easy way to understand the maximum calories you should be consuming. Multiply your weight by 10, than add your weight again to that sum: That gives the nuber of calories you need to maintain your current weight without activity. For example, 135 pounds X 10 = 1350 + 135 = 1485 calories. Eat more than that regularly, and your “loose-fit” pants won’t anymore; eat less and you start melting away. But not so fast – before you burn your gym membership or think your path to true wellness is through nutrition alone, read on about sarcopenia.
Mistake 4: Muscle Loss – “You ignor sarcopenia”. What’s wrong with that? Sarcopenia, in case you haven’t been paying attention to your medical TV dramas, is age-related muscle loss – and it can start in your 30s. If you don’t take action now, you could begin to lose as much as 1-2 percent of your muscle mass by the time you hit 50. Less muscle means you burn fewer calories and store more of them as fat.
Solution: The key to stopping muscle meltdown is to strengthen your back shoulders, arms, and thighs. “When you increase lean muscle mass, you burn more calories, even when you are sitting down doing mothing.” Work out at least twice a week and keep it up after you reach your target weight: Studies show that if you don’t exercise regularly (60 minutes of moderate physical activity a day), the pounds can creep back on.
Mistake 5: Realistic Goals and Coaching – “You’re shooting for a realistic size 6 instead of a near-impossible 2.” I know size 2 jeans look like they were made for a 10-year-old, but, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, woen who set unrealistically high weight-loss goals dropped more weight in 24 months than those who kept their expectations low.
Solution: The study concluded that having an optimistic goal motivated woen to stay focused on their wellness goals. “If you’re a driven person and a lofty goal motivates you – it can work.” The study also showed that participants who had a “wellness partner” or trainer were 5 times more likely to succeed than those going it alone.
Mistake 6: Antioxidant – “Stop popping the M&M’s”. You have heard the news: Cocoa (dark chocolate) can lower blood pressure; reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and dementia; and possibly even prevent cancer. But the research isn’t a s delicious as it seems. The cocoa-bean products used in the studies are a far cry from the highly processed chocolate candy you find on the shelves of your local store. “Milk chocolate contains about 150 calories and 10 grams of fat per ounce,”…Not Good!
Solution: The key here is small doses. Dark chocolate, which retains more of the bean during processing, generally has slightly less fat and fewer calories than milk chocolate – plus it’s richer, so less goes a longer way.
Mistake 7: Water – You think “water-rich” diet means more trips to the cooler. Water in your glass is good, but water in your food can have serious slimming power. In a new American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, obese women ages 20-60 were told to either reduce their fat intake or increase their intake of water-rich foods, such as fruits and veggies. Although they ate more, women in the water-rich group chose foods that were more filling – yet had fewer calories -so they still lost 33 percent more weight in the first six months than the women in the fat reduced-fat group.
Solution: Fill up on food that’s high in water. Another good idea is to drink your body weight in ounces (water) on a daily basis. Staying hydrated is a key to good wellness.
Mistake 8: Potassium – You never think about potassium. A recent Canadian study concluded that gettring more potassium might help lower your weight and blood pressure. Levels measured in study participants were proportional to their diet and weight. “The richest sources of potassium are beans, vegetables, and fruit, so the person with high potassium levels is consuming a lot of these foods, which are low ing calories and are the most filling.”
Solution: You should aim for 4700mg of potassium each day. Supplements, like Creating Wellness Vitalize, can help you hit that target. Other suggestions – white beans (1 cup: 1000mg), winter squash (1 cup: 494mg), spinach (1 cup 840mg), baked potato with skin (926mg), yogurt (1 cup: 600mg), halibut (4 ounces: 566mg), and orange juice (1 cup: 473mg).
Mistake 9: Kick bad habits…one at a time – you give up junk food today but put off your wellness program until January. Tackling one goal at a time is supposed to help you succeed. But new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine bucks that conventional wisdom. In a study of people who smoked, had high blood pressure, and weren’t extremely active, one group was asked to quit the butts, cut back on dietary sodium, and increase physical activity all at once. Another group addressed one bad habit at a time. The group that tackled all their problems simultaneously had a higher success rate after 18 months.
Solution: Combining your goals may work for the same reason job negotiations do: When you ask for everything, you are more likely to get something. Put this thinking to the test by creating a healthy eating and exercise plan and throwing all your energy into following both. Your Creating Wellness coach can help you!
