Fitness & Wellness

It can be a tough battle if you’re losing weight, but well worth the effort. Today, more focus than ever is focused on it, since obesity is now the leading cause of preventable death, overtaking smoking. Just like patches and medications for smoking cessation, there are medications to help boost weight loss. However, like quitting smoking, the big difference comes from the changes you make in life. For smokers, it may be going to the gym and getting more exercise to help resist the urge to smoke. For people trying to lose weight, it includes that, plus changing eating habits.

Lifestyle changes are the most important, but when you add weight loss medication it makes a big difference.

Studies on the best approach to weight loss say that lifestyle changes are necessary, but that when you combine that with medication, it boosts the weight loss by as much as 10%. Those changes in eating habits, sleeping habits and the addition of a regular workout program also increase the potential for keeping weight from returning.

Sustaining weight loss is important.

Losing weight is tough enough but keeping it off is even tougher. In order to dramatically affect health, weight loss has to be sustained. Not only does losing weight help reverse insulin resistance, but it can also help reverse type 2 diabetes or reduce the need for insulin and medications. Sustained weight loss can also improve cardiovascular conditions and help limit the effect of other diseases.

Do the drugs have any side effects or long term dangers?

There are approximately four medications that are approved for use. Bupropion-naltrexone under the name of Contrave, Liraglutide, sold as Saxenda, Orlistat called Xenical and Phentermine-topiramate sold commercially as Qsymia. Bupropion-naltrexone is an antidepressant and carries side effects of increased risk of suicide, nausea, constipation and headache. Liraglutide is used for diabetes, given by injection and may cause nausea. Orlistat can be purchased over-the-counter as Alli. It can cause gas and digestive issues and may damage the liver. Phentermine-topiramate combines two drugs, one of which is an anticonvulsant. It can be abused, since it acts like amphetamine. It also can increase blood pressure and heart rate, while increasing the risk of birth defects.

• In order to get the right type of drug that really helps, you need to work with your health care professional. Most of these drugs are available only to the severely overweight and obese.
• While there are risks to many of these drugs for weight loss, often the benefits outweigh the risks, particularly in the severely obese. It’s always important to work closely with your health care professional.
• Some people using weight loss drugs take a combination of several drugs. If there are side effects, such as nausea, adjusting the dosage or combination often solves the problem.
• Some medical professionals believe that in order to maintain the weight loss, the drugs must be taken the rest of the life of the patient. Others suggest that medication is only a supplement to aid in weight loss, for initial weight loss and until lifestyle changes become habit.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

Toned arms can make any summer outfit look fabulous and even dresses add to that stunning look. If you’re more into building great guns, these exercises for stronger biceps can help you too. The biceps have two heads and in order to maximize your workout, you have to work both heads. Many exercises can do that. If you don’t have equipment, bodyweight exercises can do the job, too. One exercise that’s exceptional and can be done anywhere, involves lifting weight, but that weight is your leg. Roll a towel lengthwise and put it behind your thigh. Hold an end in each hand. Pull until you lift your leg off the ground.

Push-ups are a favorite “oldie but goodie.”

One thing about push-ups and many other traditional bodyweight exercises. You can do push-ups the traditional way or modify it to work other muscles. The traditional method works the chest, triceps and deltoids, but when you change your hand placement, putting the hands closer together with just a few inches in between, it makes the push-ups harder and also works your biceps more. Doing an inside push-up with reverse hands further down and fingers pointing toward your feet also targets the biceps, just as one-armed push-ups do.

If you have dumbbells and a chin-up bar, you have a great biceps workout tool.

Alternating dumbbell biceps curls from one side to the other can build great muscles or tone your muscles. Go for more weight and fewer repetitions to build and more reps and lighter weight to tone. Grip toward one side of the dumbbell to build muscle even faster. It’s the added wrist action that helps. Use an underhand grip for pull-ups to work the biceps, placing your hands 6-8 inches apart. Focus on both lifting and slowly lowering your body. If you have a weight vest or dip belt, wear it during pull-ups.

Cable curls are exceptional for building biceps.

While it may seem a lot like standing barbell curls, there’s a difference. They’re similar in that you’re standing, lifting the bar with hands in shoulder-width position and an underhanded grip, however, it’s also different in the tension throughout. When you’re working with cable curls, the tension doesn’t stop at the bottom or the top, like it does with barbells. It’s constant, giving you a better workout for your biceps.

• Do chair dips to build your biceps. You can use any type of firm chair that doesn’t have rollers or sturdy coffee table. Facing the chair, put your hands on the edge and grasp as you lower yourself toward the floor with legs out behind and do a modified push-up.
• If you have resistance bands, they’re a good way to build biceps. You can stand on the middle, feet at shoulder-width, with one end in each hand and slowly lift hands with palms facing upward, then slowly lower them again.
• Modifying your diet to include more protein can also help build all muscles, including the biceps. Some trainers believe that diet plays a huge role in how successful you are.
• To maximize benefits, do your biceps exercises at the beginning of your workout and never at the end. Don’t continuously use the same routine but vary your workout frequently.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

People choose to become a vegetarian for a number of reasons. I always tell people at Team Worx Fitness in Alexandria, VA, that the best way to lose weight is to eat healthy and don’t make any specific recommendations on diet. However, when asked if you can lose weight on a vegetarian diet, the answer is simple. Absolutely! That is as long as you aren’t supplementing that diet with vegetarian options of junk food and food with added sugar. It’s a bit harder to balance a vegetarian diet, but if you do, and stick with healthy principals, it might even be easier.

Is a vegetarian diet the same as a vegan diet?

Those words are often mixed, and they don’t mean the same things. Vegans don’t consume ANY animal products, including eggs or dairy. Many don’t even use products containing anything from animals, like wearing leather shoes. A vegetarian diet is a lot easier to stick with and balance, since it has both plant and animal protein. Eggs are a great source of protein. Vegetarians simply refrain from eating the flesh of animals, not all animal products.

It’s all about making healthier choices when you select food.

If you’re eating a vegetarian diet and it includes pastries and candy that’s not healthy. Sure, it doesn’t have animal meat, but it has added sugar, which comes from a plant. Too often, I’ve seen meat substitutes that are far less healthy than the original. Take Impossible Burgers for instance. They’re higher in sodium than the real thing, and they still come on a bun, with condiments galore. Choose wisely and don’t be fooled by imitation products that substitute for meat. They might not be as healthy as you think and far more fattening.

It may be easier to lose weight as a vegetarian.

Red meat has lots of calories compared to a boiled egg. Filling up on salad can actually reduce your calorie intake. Be aware that it’s not about the label you choose to call yourself, it’s about the food you eat and the calorie and health benefits or hazards it contains. Sugar comes from plants but is toxic to the system and can cause you to gain weight. Studies show vegetarians and vegans actually tend to be leaner, but it’s a generalization that depends on the food you eat within that category.

• Nuts are a source of protein often consumed by vegetarians. However, if you opt for nuts with a thick coating of sugar, they cease being healthy and definitely won’t help you lose weight.
• One way that vegetarianism can help with weight loss is that it increases fiber in your diet, as long as you opt for unprocessed vegetables and fruit. They help you feel full longer, so you eat less.
• Some vegetarian options, like avocados and nuts that contain healthy fat or protein options like beans, also keep you feeling full longer. They also contain fiber that slows the release of glucose in your blood stream to aid in preventing insulin resistance.
• No matter what your choice of diet, including vegan and vegetarian, losing weight is all about making the smartest possible choices and eating healthy.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

When someone mentions foods that make you feel good, you might automatically think of those comfort foods, like a pint of ice cream, mashed potatoes and gravy or double chocolate, chocolate chip cookies. That’s not the type of food that really changes your body to help lift your spirits, but the type of food associated mentally with feeling better. There are actual foods that can help improve your mood in the long run. In fact, if your comfort food is a sweet, it’s probably prolonging your misery, since sugary processed food causes fluctuations in your blood sugar level, with lows leaving you sad and miserable.

Look for foods high in vitamin B6, tryptophan and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Nuts are a great food for lifting your spirits, particularly cashews, Brazil nuts and peanuts. Flaxseed also joins that group. The vitamin tryptophan in cashews converts to serotonin, which helps stabilize your mood and makes you feel happier and more relaxed, and the vitamin B6 helps with that conversion. Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps make you less angry and happier. A study focused on changing the diet at a prison with a higher amount of violence and found it reduced the incidences dramatically.

Boost your brain power, fight cancer and improve your mood with berries.

Berries, particularly blueberries, have loads of phytochemicals that fight free radicals that come from our environment. Anthocyanin that makes blueberries blue, is one of the flavonoids that provide brain protection and also helps you feel good. One study compared the effects of drinking a placebo, to drinking a drink made of wild blueberries. The wild blueberry drink improved the mood for people, no matter what their age. Other fresh berries, particularly those that are deep red or purple, also have a similar effect. The same is true for vegetables that are deep red or purple.

Eating your greens helps you body and your mood.

If you have a bowl of leafy greens, you’ve got a bowl of fiber, magnesium, vitamin B6 and folate. As noted previously the B6 helps convert tryptophan to serotonin, increasing the amount the body gets. Serotonin is similar to antidepressants, so the more you have in your body, the lower the risk for depression. You’ll also find B6 in carrots, green peas, sweet potatoes and legumes. The folate (not folic acid, which people often confuse it with) in leafy greens also helps regulate the serotonin and magnesium has been used to treat depression for years.

• If chocolate was on your feel good list, you may be on the right track, but it has to be dark chocolate with a high amount of cacao, very little if any milk or sugar. It’s the polyphenols in cacao that make it good for your mood.
• You need foods high in vitamin C to produce neurotransmitters that are necessary to make hormones like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin, which make you feel good. Red bell peppers and citrus fruits and good sources.
• Many Americans have a deficiency of magnesium, which can cause depression. Eating a handful of pumpkin seeds each day can help replenish the magnesium.
• Increasing blood circulation can occur when blood vessels dilate. That can improve your mood. A cup and a half cups of coffee each day can help do that. The caffeine also increases the production of dopamine.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx

I encourage people to eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise. Some clients at Team Worx Fitness in Alexandria, VA, have asked me if OTC vitamins—over the counter vitamins—offer benefits. It’s easy to understand how you might think they help, since Americans purchase over millions of dollars worth each year, and even more if you include other types of supplements. Is it really healthy or is it just good advertising that drives those sales?

Supplements may not offer the benefits you hoped.

There are three studies recently completed at John Hopkins that looked into whether supplements were beneficial or not. They were all large, with the biggest study following 450,000 people. That large study showed OTC multivitamins didn’t reduce the risk for cancer or heart disease. The same was true of one of the smaller, yet significant studies. The last smaller study, which had only 5947 subjects, looked at multivitamins use and the potential for reducing mental decline. The study followed these people for 12 years and found they didn’t have any effect.

OTC products may not be bioavailable.

No matter how dedicated you are to taking your vitamins, your body may not get the benefits. That’s because it can’t absorb the nutrients it offers. Even if it’s a pure form of the vitamin, your body may not be able to use it because it’s not bioavailable. Lots of things determine bioavailability. How quickly the vitamin breaks down is one. If it breaks down too easily, it doesn’t have a long shelf life, but if it has a longer shelf life, you may find it in your toilet amidst the corn and peanuts that also don’t digest. Some drugs taken with vitamins limit their availability and some forms of the vitamin do too.

Taking too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing.

If you’re taking high doses of a vitamin, it can be toxic. While it may not kill you, if you take more vitamin C than you need, you’ll end up with diarrhea and urine rich in vitamin C. The real dangers come with fat soluble vitamins, like vitamin E, D or A. High amounts of vitamin E increase the risk of stroke. People who smoke and take high amounts of vitamin A or beta-carotene may increase the risk of lung cancer.

• Taking calcium supplements, particularly if you’re a senior, may actually be dangerous. It can cause calcium to build up in artery walls. You’re better off doing weight bearing exercises to help prevent osteoporosis.
• Taking multivitamins and thinking you’ve got your basis covered is just as dangerous. You need many of the phytonutrients to work in synergy for more effective benefits or even any benefits at all.
• Not all forms of the vitamin are bioavailability, meaning it doesn’t allow your system to use it. Many of the vitamin forms used in multivitamins are less expensive, but also less effective and harder to break down.
• Some vitamins may be important. For instance, vitamin D is extremely important, but many people have a deficiency, since they get little sun and it’s hard to get in food. Always ask your health care professional before you start taking any supplements.
• For more information, contact us today at Team Worx