The Couch-to-5K Running Plan

 To say you haven’t heard the phrase “good fat/bad fat” would indicate that you’re either suffering from amnesia or you have spent the last decade reading only Harry Potter.Or maybe you’ve worked for the American Heart Association for 40 years and didn’t get the memo that even they have changed their recommendations away from avoiding all fat to instead include “good fats.”My futile attempts at humor aside, most of us know there are “good fats” out there — fish oil, some nuts, flaxseed oil, olive oil… The list goes on depending how much money you’re willing to wave at the health food store clerk. But most of us just want to know if we have to have a certain amount of fat, if it will help or hurt our attempts to lose weight, and how we can get it in our diet easily. Save carbon chains, hydrolysis, free-fatty acids and gluconeogenesis for grad students — just tell me what to do! In a nutshell, saturated fats are bad, unsaturated fats are good. So they tell us. Saturated fats come from animal products like beef, pork, high-fat dairy, and egg yolks (fish being the exception) and unsaturated fats come from plant sources as mentioned above. The terms saturated and unsaturated refer to their chemical composition and stability. Saturated fats are bigger and more stable and therefore harder to break down to use for energy. Think of them as big clumpy, sticky molecules that clog up your arteries – a big, yucky hairball in your drain. Unsaturated fats are more easily digested and used as energy and they actually have some amazing benefits.They are used by the body to create cholesterol-derived hormones, some of which are helpful in metabolism and even things like mood and libido. They contain essential fatty acids that are used for cell repair, cell membrane maintenance, the nervous system, the immune system and will even help increase the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body while reducing the bad. So instead of just avoiding all fat, if you make an effort to sneak in some of the good, you’ll increase your health and potentially lose weight, if it’s part of a good overall plan. 

In addition to the direct fat-loss effects, you may find that additional fat in your diet helps control carb cravings and it becomes easier to eat less. Studies with protein have demonstrated the same — when kids were made to eat a certain amount of protein per day, but then could eat anything they wanted, they ate hundreds of calories less per day just due to being more satisfied/full after eating. Fat does the same thing. If you add fat as a regular part of your diet, add good fat.

When I’m dieting, I do make an effort to add good fat and it works – it’s not theory and it’s not merely academic. Start with flaxseed oil. Why? It’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are hard to find in nature (if you don’t want to eat salmon every day), are the most helpful for every reason on this page and more and are easy to integrate. Simply add half of a tablespoon to a meal or two where it fits nicely. I usually recommend about 20 percent of calories coming from fat when dieting, and certainly more is allowable when maintaining weight. For the average female, that equates to about 25 to 35 grams per day and for men around 45 to 55 grams per day (depending, of course, on calorie intake which depends on things like age, activity level and metabolic rate). Cook with olive or canola or even grapeseed oil. Make or use salad dressings with olive oil. Some nuts like almonds also have high percentages of unsaturated fat and unique health properties. I certainly don’t like to see someone go to one extreme or the other (no carbs or no fat) but many dieters are terrified to add fat. Consider this a polite prompt and permission to try it. You can even get a note from your doctor; I’m sure he or she would agree. I think you’ll find it easier to lose or maintain your weight, your brain will be happy and I’ll bet even your hair and skin look better — who wouldn’t like a nice, shiny coat?! Some people, because of good genetics and/or a great lifestyle, can end up too low in total cholesterol, LDLs, triglycerides, etc. Most struggle in the other direction for sure, but here’s the correlation: Being in a dieting state for long enough can mimic my client’s condition. Though I’m not a fan of dieting on a very-low carb diet and eating a ton of saturated fat, a lot of people could benefit from keeping some of their fat intake coming from saturated sources. The hormones I mentioned that are cholesterol-derived can’t always keep up when the diet is “too clean.”  

Kirstie Alley’s “Shortcut” Diet

Remember when Kirstie Alley shed a whopping 75 pounds on the Jenny Craig diet? Her weight-loss success was so widely publicized that the actress even appeared on Oprah in a bikini. That was a year ago, and this is now. We think Kirstie might need to call Jenny again, collect. It’s rumored the actress has gained back the weight she so famously lost. Over the summer, Kirstie was spotted looking heavier and more like her pre-Jenny days. And it didn’t help that in one of her Jenny Craig commercials she’s seen sitting down (and nicely camouflaged) behind the wheel of the car. 

 Beyonce’s Maple Syrup Diet

It’s hard to imagine that one of the sexiest women in Hollywood went on a crash diet, but that’s what singer/actor Beyonce did to prepare for her role as a supreme diva in the movie, Dreamgirls. Beyonce dropped an unbelievable (and dangerous) 20 pounds in two weeks on the “Master Cleanse Diet,” (a.k.a. The Lemonade Diet). On the Master Cleanse Diet, you drink a beverage (no food) made from lemons, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days. You’ll see a dramatic weight loss… if you don’t drop dead first. Plus, too much crash dieting will trick your body into storing fat instead of burning it.  

Anna Nicole Smith’s Alleged TrimSpa Diet

Even those of us who live under a rock now know that the late bombshell, Anna Nicole Smith, lost about 70 pounds by using the TrimSpa supplement pills. If you remember how heavy Anna appeared on her reality show, you know something worked. But was it really the TrimSpa pills? Or did she secretly undergo liposuction before she endorsed TrimSpa? Fast forward to Anna’s tragic death and investigators searching the blonde star’s hotel room and finding a refrigerator full of – ahem – another company’s weight-loss shakes. Oops! -  

Britney Spears’ Junk Food Diet 

Your mother wasn’t kidding when she said, “Don’t eat junk food — it’ll make you fat.” Enter exhibit A, Britney Spears. Sure, she’s had two kids, but our favorite pop-tart is looking heavier, sloppier and more unkempt than we’ve ever seen her. It seems that the fallen starlet’s well-documented diet of In-N-Out burgers, Starbucks frappucinos and Red Bull drinks have all caught up with her. Britney is far from overweight by normal standards, but she’s definitely not the toned Britster we once knew with to-die-for, six-pack abs. Remember that embarrassing performance she did at the Video Music Awards sporting a belly in an ill-fitting bikini? No more, Britney. Give us less, much less, of you altogether.

Jennifer Hudson’s American Idol-Dreamgirls Diets

While her Dreamgirls co-star Beyoncé was starving herself to slim down for her diva character, Jennifer Hudson had the opposite challenge; she had to gain weight to play the character of Effie. The Oscar-winning actress gained 20 pounds in two weeks and said she did so by eating “all the cookies, cakes and pies I could.” And believe it or not, Jennifer says she lost a whopping 60 pounds during American Idol because of all the stress. The good news is Jennifer’s back to eating well-balanced meals. Look for her as Carrie Bradshaw’s assistant in the upcoming and highly anticipated Sex and the City movie.  Nicole Richie’s “Skin-and-Bones” DietWhen The Simple Life star got busted under the influence driving the wrong way down an L.A. highway, she weighed in at a mere 85 pounds. In pictures and on the red carpet, Nicole’s arms and legs looked like tiny twigs that might snap off and break with just the right amount of wind. Her head and those famous oversized glasses were the biggest thing on her whole body. She never admitted to having an eating disorder, but clearly, something was awry. Thank goodness for divine intervention this year. Only the arrival of a baby could cause Nicole to gain lots of desperately needed weight. A mere two weeks after the birth of her daughter, the new mom looks great. Keep it up, Nicole – and by that, we mean the weight.Remember, fad diets may work in the short run, but depriving yourself of certain food groups for quick weight loss is a recipe for disaster in the long run. Sensible eating and regular exercise are the cornerstones of any good diet plan.  

   If there’s one thing I’ve learned since being vegetarian, it’s that if you don’t do your research THOROUGHLY, you’re in for a world of hurt—or atleast hunger. The book above, entitled Skinny Bitch is responsible for me making the veggie plunge I was already doing my research for 2 months before I picked up this book. I, like a lot people, always believed that meat provided vital nutrients and was pretty much convinced that vegetarians were freaks of nature. I dined at a few vegan restaurants and LOVED what I ate. So, naturally, upon reading the vulgarity in this book (yes, that was a disclaimer), I said “What the hay.” The reason I stress the importance of proper research, is because most people think that the only way to feel full is from eating meat. HUH? There are so many alternatives to meat it’s not even funny. Tofu is one of my favorite foods now. It takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with, so if you so desire, you can actually make this taste like meat! I cook it with lots of spicy seasoning and I eat some atleast 4x a week. I would have never tried this stuff prior to making the switch (sorry, I didn’t know how else to say it!) Beans are another perfect food. Not refried beans– all natural in-the-bag beans!  Eat your beans with some tofu and you’ll stay full for an entire day Also, multi-vitamins are extremely important. I know this topic can be somewhat controversial (bc of PETA etc…) and so I will end this by posting some links that will help anyone make the right decision about being veg.  I am not trying to sway you one way or another; I am simply providing some information bc so many people have asked me about it. So check out the links below and feel free to post a comment if you have other questions that these sites can’t answer. I will respond to everyone    

VEGSOC.ORG

TRYVEG.COM

VEGGIEGLOBAL.COM

THEVEGGIETABLE.COM

  I think most of us can agree that moms these days don’t get enough credit. I’m not a mom yet myself, and I am already trying to conceive ways of fitting in my workouts while chasing after a buncha mini-me’s. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to stay fit and eat healthy when the life of a little one is in your hands 24/7. So here is some relief. House cleaning burns tons of calories!! LIGHT cleaning burns about 240 cals/hr (depending on your weight and gender of course), AND depending on how wild your kid is, you can burn even more (lucky you!). I often visit Webmd.com when I am searching for a lot of my fitness facts. They actually have one of the best house-cleaning lists I’ve seen around ! Here is some of what they suggest, moms: 

Register today for the 2008 Charlotte RaceFest Half Marathon and 10K!  Don’t miss out on one of the best races in the Southern Region!

In addition to a high quality colorful T-Shirt, All Finishers in both the Half Marathon and 10K will receive a commemorative finishers’ medal. (P.S…I will be there!!)

    Come out and join me this year for my second Half Marathon experience!! We can support eachother as we accomplish the world’s most difficult task (well, to me anyways….it’s not easy!)