RIP Weight Loss Inspiration Jack LaLanne

Jack LaLanne has died at age 96.

This one remarkable man did more for health and fitness than countless others combined. He proved that anyone could change their body. He demonstrated that we are not doomed to be unfit merely because the calendar marches on.

One of my favorite memories of LaLanne's "stunts"--events he held to further health and fitness-- was watching him pull boats while swimming...he did this stunt numerous times to celebrate different events in history. (See a list of his feats)

While I never was into body building, nor can I claim to be nearly the fitness fanatic that Jack was, he certainly was an inspiration to me. In fact I remember one time while in college when some friends and I went out to the lake on a boat...when the boat died what did I do? I swam it in to shore. Granted, it was 1 boat with only 5 people aboard...but I felt pretty buff doing it!

Thanks Jack for the inspiration and the memories.

Walmart Joins Weight Loss Success Effort

Walmart is the largest grocery chain in the US and they have now pledged their support of First Lady Michelle Obama's fight against childhood obesity. They say they will change the formulas of many of their Great Value brand items to lower the amount of sodium and sugar they contain. This could really help Americans in the efforts to achieve weight loss success.

This is a great move for consumers as the "hidden" sugar in these goods has a direct link to many of our health issues and this country's obesity epidemic. In fact, the starting place is to focus on things like salad dressing, fruit juice and lunch meat--products that when you read the label you will often see have sugar in the top 5 ingredients.

Sales of Great Value label products amount to roughly 20% of Walmart's sales--so this is not a small promise. But don't expect to see the change on products tomorrow--reformulation will take some time. The goal is to reduce soium by 25% and reduce or remove added sugar from "some" of their label products by 2015.

Even if you don't buy your groceries at Walmart, this move will likely have an affect on you because of the power Walmart yields with suppliers. The chain gets this power because it controls roughly 15% of the grocery sales in the US--the closest competitor is Kroger, the parent company of King Soopers here in Colorado, which is about 1/2 the size of Walmart.

It is likely that suppliers and even competitors will follow Walmart's lead as they did when the giant encouraged a reduction in packaging.

Also in the plan is removing more trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils) from the line which will also be a big health benefit.

In another health-positive move, Walmart is pledging to lower prices on fresh produce.

Since we won't see these changes overnight, it is still up to us to make conscious food choices and to read labels. As more of us vote with our wallets and stop buying foods that contain unnecessary sugar, sodium and trans fats, the grocery industry will scramble to meet the demand for healthier foods.

The Old Unhealthy Me Was Living Loud Today

My day started off a bit rough today. I was feeling sensitive, not the strong, confident person that I am most days.

It wasn't like I could just go back to bed until I felt better--I had appointments to go to, places to be, people to see. You know, that little thing called life.

I thought I had moved past it, worked it out, but when I was running to my appointments and errands it became abundantly clear that I had not! The "old me"...the unhealthy one, the one who used to buy junk food, eat it and try to hide the evidence...she kept talking to me this morning.

I stopped at the post office which is next to a grocery store and thought, "we need milk, I'll just run in and get some milk." But the voice of the unhealthy me said--"and get some cookies...they taste so good...you know, the big home-made tasting ones they make at this store...no one will know."

Fortunately I had another appointment that would take a couple hours, so buying milk was not really practical...saved for the moment.

At the post office they have a candy bar display...none of that looked good. Not that that would have stopped me in the past, but today I was able to say "don't want it so I won't buy it." Hurray.

My last errand brought me near another grocery store. It was now noon and I had not eaten since 7. So now the unhealthy me was really pushing hard! I seriously thought about going into the grocery store, but I knew that if I did it would be that much harder to resist the yelling of that unhealthy voice (today there were no whispers.)

I decided to not go into the store. I probably have enough milk to make it until tomorrow, I decided. And if not, I can always go back out after I've had some lunch.

Once I got home and had some food I felt better. And later I was able to actually talk about what had been bothering me. It was a silly little thing that won't make a lick of difference in my life--or the lives of anyone else--by the end of the day. Next week I probably won't even remember it happened. And I almost let that silly little thing take me out today.

I'm proud of myself for walking away from the store. I'm proud of myself for not succumbing to the unhealthy voice. I'm proud of myself for recognizing that this was an emotional pull to eat, not a real physical hunger. And I'm especially proud for really talking it out and getting the emotions out instead of stuffing them down.

Days like today I realize just how far I have come...and that the weight loss journey continues for me every day.

The weight loss success tip out of this experience: when emotions surface, walk and talk--give yourself time and distance to think rather than react.

Weight Loss Tip: Games People Play

We all know that moving our body is an important aspect of gaining fitness and losing weight, but for a lot of us "exercise" is a dirty word--even if it is more than 4 letters long.

The absolute best exercise for losing weight is one that you will do...so figure out a way to make it fun. The goal is to have you enjoying your life, not dreading it! Active games are one way that we can get fit by moving our body while making it fun.

Whether you want to play tag or Frisbee with your kids, get on the swingset at the local playground (they don't call it an exercise yard except in prison!), pick up a racket for tennis or badminton or a paddle for your kayak, canoe or even for ping-pong...playing is good for your body, your mind and your spirit!

Dr. Daniel Amen who is a specialist in brain and brain chemistry says that playing increases blood flow to the brain and our ability to process. Active play typically requires coordination of eyes, hands and feet. So don't pooh-pooh sports like badminton and ping-pong any more--they can be great ways to get fit and stimulate your brain.

BTW, did you know actress Susan Sarandon is a big fan of Ping-Pong? In her words, the sport is "the most fun way to stay in shape." If you want to join Sarandon at the table, find a club by going to usatt.org.

Weight Loss Success Tip: Temptation Assistance is at Hand

Yesterday I wrote about how hard it is to break unhealthy habits and that one solution can be putting space between you and temptation. Sometimes we can do that by avoiding stores when we are hungry, not buying junk food treats that trip our trigger, or even putting tempting foods somewhere that we can't readily see or reach them.

I read about a new study that reveals we have another tool right at hand. Literally. When you are facing your temptation, whether that is chips or candy in the vending machine at work or something in the store or your own home, according to this study if you clench your fist it will help.

It isn't something that works long-term...but it can be an immediate boost for you when face-to-face with temptation.

Fists aren't the only things that work either--although it is harder to reach for that pint of Ben & Jerry's without the use of fingers! You can clench any muscles for the same effect. So if your hands are otherwise occupied squeeze you buttocks. Then you get a little isometric exercising it at the same time!


Study published by the Journal of Consumer Research

Weight Loss Challenge: Immediate Pleasure vs I Know Better

I've mentioned recently how I think setting New Year's resolutions sucks, we'll now I actually have some science to back up my beliefs. Love it when that happens!

Strike one against our efforts to lose weight...big surprise: we like sweets! Turns out humans are genetically built to prefer sweeter tasting foods than bitter ones. This was good for procreation and safety as more bitter tasting foods were poisonous than sweet ones. Survival of the fittest (or sweetest) at work--those who didn't eat the poison survived.

We also get a hit of dopamine when we eat foods that we enjoy...dopamine is a pleasure-sensing hormone and it reinforces the pleasure aspect of eating those foods. So every time we eat something that tastes super yummy we get a hit of dopamine and so we want it even more.

So we like sweets and then foods that taste really good give us a brain buzz.

This double whammy makes it really hard to break a habit. We may have really good intentions (like setting a resolution) but this dopamine hit is more than just a bad habit...it actually hard-wires us to want the substance, even when we have a better reward in the future. So much for willpower!

So it is a showdown between our intellect and our biology. Dr Nora Volkow is an authority on the brain's pleasure sensing pathway and she says this is why unhealthy actions become habits and why they are so hard to break.

Not only are habits hard to break, for some reason we think we will be able to handle temptation better than we really can.

Loran Norgren is a psychologist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and in their studies they have documented that people who put more obstacles between themselves and the temptation have a much better success rate at not giving in. They have also shown that people tend to overestimate their ability to withstand the temptation...and that leads to their downfall.

Lessons from this?

Immediate pleasure is a powerful thing--and certainly not all bad (that procreation thing, remember But in our effort to lose weight, sometimes we need to put a little distance between ourselves and our food temptation. At least until we can unwire our brains.

Another thing we can do to help us overcome the pull of that immediate pleasure is to be very aware of when we eat and why. Reducing emotional reasons and environmental stimulation really helps. Don't go to the grocery store hungry for one. And don't stock up on your favorite treats to test yourself...studies show odds are you will "not be the biggest loser" if you get my drift.

As far as I am concerned learning to really love ourselves is one of the biggest weapons we have against the pull of immediate pleasure. When we love ourselves we naturally want to take care of our bodies and eat healthier foods. It doesn't mean that we will never want a treat, it does mean that we will be less inclined to have to binge over it. And if we do binge, we will be better able to forgive ourselves and move on.

In the meantime, loving ourselves might just mean putting some distance between a food we love and the bodies we love, at least temporarily!

Why I Refuse to Diet to Lose Weight!--Amen & Caution

I read a great post today at Inland Empire Family blogs, titled "Why I Refuse to Diet to Lose Weight!" You can imagine with a name like that that I had to read it.

People often say they refuse to diet--and it is usually that they have been on diets before. Lots of diets. Diets that let them down. That is the case with "Skinny Jeans Mom" who wrote this post.

I agree with just about everything she (SJM) says...and I've written much of the same thoughts, both here and in my book, Refuse to Diet: Weight Loss Success Starts with Your Mind...Not Your Mouth. She talks about getting ample sleep, getting rid of the guilt if you do have a treat, not skipping meals and moderation to name a few tips. She just makes sense, small changes to get the results you want, diets don't work, don't deprive yourself, etc.

Check out SJM's blog post, it has lots of great tips...but one word of caution--

When SJM talks about water she suggests "stashing" water in your car. Drinking sufficient water a big part of being healthy since our bodies are mostly water, but here is a word of caution. There is so much documentation that shows the sunlight and heat in our cars can cause plastic to leach into our water bottles, so using plastic bottles in our cars is just not a good idea. If I'm out and about I carry a bottle with me, either BPA-free plastic or metal. If I'm driving for a long time or want to leave water in the car then I also have a small cooler with me. Even though I like my water room temp, I will put a small ice bag in the cooler, thereby helping the water to stay fresh and safe.

I would add one big tip: eat consciously. When we stop our unconscious eating by limiting our multi-tasking while eating we experience more satisfaction with the food we do eat and we get full more quickly--we have more pleasure (so if you truly love food, as opposed to loving to put food in your mouth, this is a good thing) and we actually will successfully lose weight.

Read SJM's post in full by clicking here.