Free Zumba Fest... Fri 6/1 in Henderson

The Henderson Family YMCA will be holding a

FREE ZUMBA exercise-fest 

for all WLC participants that want one last hurrah!

WHEN?                 Fri. 6/1

TIME?                   6 – 8 pm

J J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J  J J  J   

PLEASE give a big thanks to the YMCA and all the challenge partners for their generous support of this year’s Challenge, and to Gwen Hernandez for leading the charge with the idea of holding massive ZUMBA meet-ups!

Thank you PARTNERS for working with us to help our participants make healthier choices – We appreciate your support!! 

Body Worx – Oxford

Fresh Start Nutrition – Oxford

Granville County Cooperative Extension – Oxford

Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks – Henderson

Midnight Blue Martial Arts – Henderson

Oxford Parks and Recreation – Oxford

Studio Mainstreet – Henderson

Team Care – Oxford

The Road to Fitness – Creedmoor

A "WEIGHT" on your mind... Continuing healthy habits

For WLC 2012 participants who lost their 10lbs, congratulations!

For WLC 2012 participants who fell short, don't be discouraged. Weigh out anyways & focus on what you have accomplished. Whether you lost a couple pounds, created a healthy new habit, or abandoned a less healthy one, be proud!

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Although this year's WLC is ending, being healthy is important year-round! (Plus, you have another chance to weigh this fall!) So, regardless of whether you met your goal,:
- continue to remember your motivation. Why is being healthy important to you?
- think about what worked during the past 10 weeks. Keep up the positive habits.
- think about what didn't work for you. Brainstorm different ways to overcome some of those obstacles.

If you're happy with your new weight, start planning how to maintain it. Maintenance can be a little easier than weight loss (since it's about balancing calories in & calories out... instead of creating a steady deficit). Slipping into old habits can quickly lead to weight gain. When relaxed slightly, the same weight loss tactics we've discussed (physical activity, healthier food choices, portion control, or a combination) can help you maintain.

If you'd like to lose (or continue losing) weight, keep using the weight loss tactics discussed (physical activity, healthier food choices, portion control, or a combination). Consider revisiting old blog posts for a refresher. If you've plateaued or are having trouble,:
 - be realistic about your goals (1-2 pounds of weight loss per week max).
 - take a hard, honest look at your habits. We often move less & eat more than we realize...
 - if you already practice some healthy habits, brainstorm how to safely intensify your efforts.
 - or, try one or two new (yet manageable) changes that you are willing to live with.
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Stay tuned to the blog for weekly health topics & helpful tips!

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"WEIGH" to go... Weigh-Out Schedule

From the hot seat to the hot plate... (An intro to cooking at home)

Restaurants often offer less whole grains, less leaner cuts of meat, less reduced fat dairy options, & less fruits & veggies. Prepared foods also tend to be higher in salt, sugar, & fat than many people would prepare in their own homes.

But, some people find cooking at home a little intimidating. Eat Smart, Move More (www.myeatsmartmovemore.com) breaks down cooking into 4 steps:
- Plan:  Pick out meals or recipes in advanced! It doesn't have to be gourmet or perfect. (Or, my style of planning-- figuring out what I can turn the food in my fridge, freezer, &/or pantry into... BTW, that is my pantry pictured.)
- Shop:  Figure out what you already have & what you need to buy for the chosen meals. Planning meals around what's on sale helps save money.
- Fix:  Prepare your meal(s). If you'll be busy one day, consider cooking 2 meals simultaneously when there's time. This could be 2 completely different meals. Or, cooking enough to have leftovers. Or, try to cook some extra food to use in 2 different meals (e.g., cook chicken for chicken fajitas 1 night & pulled BBQ chicken 1 night). A crock-pot also works great on busy days.
- Eat (my favorite part!)

To learn more, check out ESMM's 2 minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZtIPBCIGVU&lr=1.


Still facing some cooking obstacles? Check out common problems & solutions:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/weight-management-calories/weight-management/better-choices/cook-home.html

Final WLC Nutrition Class

The final WLC Nutrition Class

Tues. 5/24 

5:30-6:30pm in Henderson (Maria Parham's Auditorium)

7:15-8:15pm in Oxford (Public Works/Parks & Rec Building)

Topics:  factors influencing weight loss, how to eat out healthier, & recipe makeovers.

No pre-registration is required. Attendance at prior classes is helpful but not required.

Class is free & no products or services are sold.

The "Secret"-- Part 3c. Physical Activity

Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement that uses energy (calories).

Being active helps:
- lose or maintain weight
- decrease stress
- improve concentration
- improve mood
- sleep better
- live longer
- prevent or treat many common chronic diseases
plus many more!

To get health benefits, 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week is recommended for adults. That's only 22 minutes (or less) per day! However, for weight loss purposes, additional physical activity is often necessary...

Types of physical activity:
- Cardio (or aerobic):  Make your heart beat faster (e.g., brisk walk, run, swim, bike, etc.).
- Strength:  Make your muscles stronger (e.g., exercises using body weight, lifting objects, resistance bands, etc.).
- Stretching, etc.:  Help improve balance, stability, & flexibility (e.g., yoga, tai chi, pilates, etc.).

For more details, check out http://www.choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity.html.

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New or recently returning to being active? Or, looking for more structure?
Check out http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/StartMovingMore.html for sample walking, jogging, strength, & flexibility training programs.

Already active & need to shake up your routine? Check out http://life.gaiam.com/article/workout-rut-variety-boosts-results.
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**Note:  If you have health issues or are making a significant change to your physical activity, please consider consulting with a healthcare provider first.**

The "Secret"-- Part 3b. Healthier Food Choices

This week, we'll discuss making healthier food choices & how it impacts weight loss.

Many people can find areas to tweak in their diets. This could be a healthier substitution (e.g., putting skim milk in coffee or munching on veggies instead of chips) or skipping an unnecessary habit (like a slice of cheese on a sandwich or snacking while cooking dinner). As illustrated below, even small changes help weight maintenance or can lead to slow but maintainable weight loss.

Quicker weight loss might require multiple small changes each day, a larger tweak, or using this technique in combination with portion control &/or increased physical activity. BTW, it's okay to have a "non-negotiable" (something you don't want to adjust or give up). Find tweaks that work for you.

We encourage participants to create healthy lifestyle choices that will last long beyond the Weight Loss Challenge!

Examples:

- Substituting a lower-fat dairy product... Using nutritional facts for 8 ounces of milk:

* 4% milk has 156 calories, 9 grams fat, & 8 grams protein

* 2% milk has 122 calories, 5 grams fat, & 8 grams protein

* 1% milk has 102 calories, 2 grams fat, & 8 grams protein

* Skim milk has 83 calories, 0 grams fat, & 8 grams protein

=> Even switching from a reduced-fat (2%) to 1% milk saves 20 calories per 8 ounce glass. With no other changes, this ironically may be enough of a daily caloric deficit to prevent the 1-2 pounds of weight gain that the average American experiences each year... Alone, it would take about 6 months to lose 1 pound, though.

(Tip:  Having trouble adjusting to a lower fat content? Try mixing your current milk with gradually increasing amounts of your goal milk. This often helps ease the transition.)

- Substituting 1 can of soda per day with a non-caloric drink (like water, unsweetened tea, etc.)

= saves up to 150 calories per day

=> Making no other change, this could lead to just over 1 pound per month loss.

If you drink larger portions or substitute for multiple servings of sweetened drinks per day, your results would be even more dramatic.

- Substituting a leaner cut of ground beef... Using nutritional facts for a 1/4 pound pre-cooked burger:

  * 73/27 ground beef has 350 calories, 30 grams fat, & 19 grams protein

  * 80/20 ground beef has 290 calories, 23 grams fat, & 20 grams protein

  * 93/7 ground beef has 170 calories, 8 grams fat, & 23 grams protein

=> 93/7 has half the calories, 1/4 of the fat, & more protein than the fuller fat version. Making no other change & eaten every day, the savings in this example could lead to around 1.5 pound loss per month.

Results would be even more dramatic if you eat larger portions. (Who would have thought it was ok to eat a burger while "dieting"?!?!)

As mentioned before, our goal is to eliminate an extra 3,500 calories for every pound of weight we want to lose. To lose 1 pound per week, aim for about 500 less calories per day through portion control, healthier food choices, being more physically active, or a combination of ways.

To review or catch-up on what we discussed during Class 2, check out

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/nutrition-labels-10/nutrition-label-secrets or http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/reading-food-labels.

To Weigh or Not to Weigh...

So, how often do you weigh yourself? That is the question!

There tends to be 2 schools of thought...
- Weigh every day:
Benefit:  Allows quicker recognition of smaller weight gains and, therefore, quicker action.
Disadvantage:  Encounter small but normal weight fluctuations (which could drive you crazy).

- Weigh once a week (or even less often):
Benefit:  Will likely average out your weight (may even out the "good" and "bad" days).
Disadvantage:  May take you longer to discover a weight change (which could mean a larger gain and more time and/or work to reduce it).

Research seems to indicate that those in the study who weighed themselves more frequently tended to lose more weight AND were more successful in keeping it off longer-term. However, you'll need to choose what works for you.

Tips (regardless of frequency chosen):
- Be as consistent as possible (e.g., weigh the same time of day).
- Try to wear a similar amount of clothing (or lack thereof).
- Use the same scale.
- Watch out for salt. It makes you retain water (which can weigh you down).
- Consider writing your weight down to help track patterns or your progress.

For more info, check out http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55489.

The "Secret"-- Part 3a. Portion Size

As mentioned before, there are 4 options to safely eliminate excess calories:  controlling portion size, choosing healthier options, being more physically active, or a combination.

This week's topic is portion size. Our concept of the "proper" amount of food has become seriously skewed. Portions have gradually increased over the last several decades. Consider that the adult fry or soda size in the 1950s is now considered the kiddie size. Restaurant portions today (including sandwiches, pastas, muffins, drinks, etc.) are often 2-4 times more than the average person needs. However, we often associate quantity with value.

Many of us were also raised in situations where we or our parents experienced food shortages. This often drove the demand to clean our plate & not waste food. While this message still has importance, we may need to modify how we interpret it.

Tips:
- Raise your awareness. Consider measuring your food for a short time just to see how much you're actually eating.

- Or, just use smaller plates, bowls, & utensils.
Challenge:  Pour the same amount of food (e.g., 1 cup of cereal) into a small bowl & a big bowl. Even though the amount is the same, the smaller bowl makes it look like more food & will likely feel more satisfying to eat. Pictures to follow...

- Fruits & veggies usually have far fewer calories than most other foods. So, fill half of your plate with them first. Put lean proteins & carbohydrates in the remaining half.

- Start with a modest helping. If still hungry, you can get more. If not, you've cleaned your plate without more calories than needed.

- Think of ways to incorporate small amounts of leftovers into new meals. For example, a small amount of chicken & rice can be made into a soup or added to veggies for an easy, healthy stir fry. Waste not, want not...

- Leave a few bites behind. Every little bit helps guard against weight gain.

- Eat slowly & savor your food. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to realize you're full (that's a lot of potential calorie loading or saving!).

- Pack up half of your restaurant meal to eat as leftovers on another day.


For more info, check out:
- Eat Smart Move More-- http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/RightSize.html  (don't forget the links at the bottom of that page)
- Do people really want to eat less?-- http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20120208/would-you-like-downsize-that?ecd=wnl_wmh_021512

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Weight Loss Challenge Class #2 is Tues. 4/24.

5:30pm at Maria Parham Medical Center's Classroom

(From the Ruin Creek entrance, take the first RIGHT. After the curve, take the first LEFT into the parking area overlooking the back of the YMCA. Use the door under the overhang. Walk about 3/4 of the way down the hallway. The Classroom is on your left.)

_AND_

7:15pm at Oxford Public Works

(227 W. McClanahan St. Enter through the RIGHT double doors on the front of the building.)

Learn tips to overcome weight loss plateaus 

& how to read nutrition labels.

Class is free & usually lasts about 1 hour. No pre-registration is necessary.

Everyone is welcome!

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The "Secret" to Weight Loss-- Part 3

In the past few posts, we've discussed the concept of weight loss in general terms. Hopefully, the info has helped you examine:

- what you've been eating,

- how much you've been eating,

- & how physically active (or inactive) you've been.

But, how do you know if you're maximizing your efforts?

Check out the Super Tracker (http://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/default.aspx). By answering just 6 basic questions, the website will create a free, individualized profile. This profile includes a calorie estimate & menu framework. You can access some features as a guest. However, if you are willing to create a profile, the website can help you track your food intake, physical activity, & weight.

Remember... To lose weight, you may need to adjust your caloric intake or increase physical activity (eliminate 500 calorie per day to lose 1 pound per week).

Free sample menus (1,200 through 2,000 calorie) & recipes are also available at

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/7_day_weight_loss_diet_meal_plan

Keep on working at it!

(If it was easy, everyone would do it!!!)