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Does The Apple Cider Vinegar Drink Really Work?

Does The Apple Cider Vinegar Drink Really Work?

If you’ve read or heard about the apple cider vinegar drink that’s miraculously supposed to help you lose weight without effort, you’re probably excited to try it. You probably won’t have the brilliant success that the websites, friend or video promises. Apple cider vinegar can help you shed pounds, but not by just drinking it in water. In fact, one study showed it had no weight loss effect when consumed alone, without consuming a meal.

How apple cider vinegar helps.

Carol Johnston, a dietitian, studied the effects of acetic acid, the primary component of apple cider vinegar, on the blood sugar of prediabetics. In her study, she found that it aided in lowering blood glucose levels in not only prediabetics, but also type 2 diabetics with insulin-resistance and the healthy control group. It was the most impressive with the insulin-resistant group and stayed lower. It did that by blocking starch absorption. By adding vinegar when the subject ate starch, it lowered glucose, but not by just drinking apple cider vinegar and water.

Another study showed that it might help you shed those extra pounds.

In this study, 175 healthy Japanese subjects that were overweight were studied for twelve weeks. The study showed the apple cider actually helped to reduce weight, lower visceral fat, reduce waist measurements and body mass, while also lowering triglyceride levels. However, the amount of weight lost was only about 1/3 pound per week. That doesn’t really make you want to stand up and holler!

Use apple cider vinegar with a healthy diet.

Even though the study showed some slight weight loss, consider what it could do to boost your healthy eating weight loss plan. You don’t have to drink a glass of water with apple cider vinegar or suck down a couple of teaspoons with each meal. You can incorporate it into your meals in more natural ways, like using it on salad or as a marinade or sauce for fish, poultry or meat.

  • You might find that a spoonful of AC makes you feel fuller. One study found the same thing. It came from the nausea it caused. There are better ways to lose weight and control appetite than that.
  • Consuming AC straight can damage the enamel on your teeth. Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you. Don’t drink AC straight.
  • If you’re going to eat starchy foods, remember, AC blocks starch absorption. Eat a salad with apple cider vinegar as part of the dressing.
  • If you’re on medication of any type, especially insulin, check with your health care practitioner before adding straight AC to your diet or adding it in large amounts.

How To Stick To Your Diet When No One Is Supporting You

How To Stick To Your Diet When No One Is Supporting You

Whether you’re eating healthier for weight loss or to become fitter, it’s hard to stick to your diet, especially if you don’t have anyone supporting you. If your family insists on sitting at a table filled with fried or fast foods and your whole goal is to eat fresh and healthy, you find yourself struggling with your resolve, at best, feeling disdain for your family or at worse, giving up entirely. There are solutions to this problem.

Remember, it’s your decision, and not theirs to make.

People may not be ready to eat healthier and you’re reminding them with every bite that they should. They may feel threatened that if you change, you’ll leave them behind in the dust, change your overall relationship—especially true where the other person is the dominant one—or simply don’t believe you’ll stick with it. You must remember, no matter what they THINK, ultimately you decide whether you’re going to eat healthier or not.

You might need to ask for their support.

Some people just aren’t aware that you need their help or are in the dark why you made the decision to eat healthier. Share your plans with your family and tell them that you need help. Approach it as a healthier eating style, rather than a diet and see if they’d like to join you in it. You may get some moans and groans, but if you focus on yummy recipes, fixing your food separately and only sharing a bite after they beg, you’ll often find each one slowly jumping on the bandwagon of healthy eating.

Find people who do offer support.

Your healthy eating family doesn’t have to be your immediate family. It can be friends who share your interest or are just super supportive or a group class at the gym. You’ll often be surprised that most of these people would love support from you, too. That’s one reason I’m proud of the program we have here. Not only are the trainer’s super supportive, all the members are too.

  • Plan, plan, plan. To make it easier, create menus for yourself, shop and prepare a week’s worth of meals over the weekend. You won’t have to rush around when you’re exhausted after work and be tempted to stop at Burger Quickie.
  • Eating healthy doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. Start introducing your family to healthier foods, supplementing their meals with traditional favorites. Eventually, change those recipes to healthier ones. Be careful, do it slowly, or they’ll notice.
  • Focus on flavor. Learn to add more herbs and spices to create new, more exotic tastes.
  • Have snacks ready to eat. If you have a bowl of cut up watermelon in the refrigerator, you’ll be more likely to eat it rather than searching for a sugary treat. Have healthy snacks like veggies, dip and nuts and seeds ready.

Male Eating Disorders

Male Eating Disorders

If you though only women were prone to eating disorders, think again. Today, the rise in male eating disorders is disturbing. In fact, one in every three people with an eating disorder is a male. It occurs for the some of the same reasons female eating disorders occur, but many have the added burden of trying to hide their disorder and avoiding seeking help, since it’s often thought of as primarily a “problem faced by women, not men.”The type of disorders are the same and include binge-eating disorder, anorexia and bulimia. These, especially anorexia, can affect males as young as 8.

Just like their female counterparts, it starts with societies vision of the perfect body image.

You don’t find overweight and flabby men who flaunt sex-appeal and attractiveness in commercials. Check out GI Joe action figures. They’re buff with the perfect V and if they were human, would have no body fat. Little boys look at the images presented by society as the ideal physique and hope to achieve those unattainable results. It’s similar to young girls idealizing the bodies of Barbie dolls, who would have a bust line that’s 39 inches, a waist that’s 18 inches, hips that were 33 inches, a shoe size of three and she’d be 5’9″ in height if you used the same proportions of her body.

Men have another disorder that’s more a male thing.

Men who have eating disorders may also have an unsatisfied need to develop huge muscles. I use the term unsatisfied, because no matter how buff they are, it’s never enough. They may even see themselves as skinny or underweight. This dysfunction is called muscle dysmorphia and is seem often in body builders. It reflects a compulsion to build muscle tissue, spurring the individual to spend hours at the gym bulking up, eating an odd selection of foods specifically to build muscles, spending far too much on supplements and even taking dangerous substances to enhance muscle building, such as steroids.

It’s not just how those with eating disorders view the media hype that causes these problems.

While media hype may put the “perfect” body in front of men, there’s more going on than just blindly following society’s perception of perfection. Many of those suffering from it have other issues, like lower self-esteem and feeling out of control and helpless. Controlling their weight and the way they look may be their way of regaining control of their life. Perfectionism tends to be a trait that these men have in common.

  • Eating disorders are linked to depression and other mental issues. While it’s unclear, which came first, the disorder or the depression, one thing is certain, those with eating disorders have a disproportionately higher incidence of anxiety disorder, depression and substance abuse.
  • Watch for signs of danger, such as extreme dieting, weight loss and over exercising for those with anorexia and bulimia. Anyone who binges frequently, may be the start of binging. If you notice the obsession with food has affected other areas of life, that man may need the help of a professional.
  • People with bulimia don’t necessarily share an issue of perfectionism with anorexics, but rather have a more spontaneous and impulsive nature.
  • If you recognize yourself or others in any of the descriptions, seek help. These disorders can damage organs, like the brain, heart and bones. Karen Carpenter, famous for her singing in the 70s and 80s both solo and part of the group, the Carpenter’s, died of heart damage attributed to anorexia at the age of 32.

Ways To Improve Endurance And Aerobic Health

Ways To Improve Endurance And Aerobic Health

If you find yourself huffing and puffing going up the stairs, you need to find more ways to improve endurance and aerobic health. Your endurance is an indication of cardiovascular health and just as important as flexibility, strength or balance. Each one has a place when you’re getting fit and healthy. Often people run to boost their cardio, but it’s not the most effective technique and in some cases, has negative consequences. Here are sure fire ways to build endurance, while also burning calories.

Move faster through your routine.

By moving faster, I don’t mean that you should do it at the sacrifice of form. Form is everything. But taking fewer breaks between sets of exercises can give your heart a healthy workout. Some exercises are best when done slowly. However, you don’t have to take a two minute break between sets. Try to cut the down time in half and you’ll probably find yourself panting by the end of the session.

Avoid doing the same things repeatedly.

Doing the same routine will not only become boring, it also will make your body more efficient at that exercise. Efficiency spells fewer calories burned, so you won’t get the biggest boost to your weight loss efforts. Try something new every week or two. You can rotate new exercises in, learn then well and rotate them out for something different. It’s one reason why continual jogging doesn’t make it when you want to lose weight.

Add weight to your routine.

It’s interesting to see what a difference adding extra weight to your workout can do. Have you ever thought you’d just carry your groceries to the car, rather than using a cart, only to realize that not only are they heavy after a minute or two, but that you parked far further from the store than you thought. Those groceries probably were just heavy enough to make your walk far more challenging than you expected. Not only does adding weight to exercises burn calories, it also boosts your endurance level.

  • Add explosive movements to your workout routine. Squat thrusts, frog squat jumps and tuck jumps are just a few. Not only do they build endurance, they burn tons of calories.
  • Do compound exercises. Working with kettlebells is just one example of full body compound exercises, but you don’t need to have equipment to get the benefits either. Pull ups, pushup and burpees not only boost strength and endurance, they burn calories galore.
  • Pushing through circuit training for strength training faster is another way to get the benefits that boost two types of fitness, while burning calories galore.
  • Skip the carbonated drinks both in and out of the gym. Not only do they add extra calories, they bloat you. That lowers your ability to take in as much air and work your hardest.

Why Your Waistline Size Is Important

Why Your Waistline Size Is Important

Having a smaller abdomen and waistline is important aesthetically, making you feel good about looking your best. However, there’s another reason why your waistline size is important. It’s a measure of your overall health. Abdominal fat is called visceral fat and it’s worse than other types of fat. The more you have, the more potential there is of heart disease and diabetes. It’s even more important than BMI—body mass index.

Different types of fat.

The fat around your abdomen is called visceral fat and it’s the hardest to lose. It’s also the most dangerous. While excess fat is seldom welcomed, you do need some type of fat. It’s fuel. It cushions you—sitting with no fat on your backside would hurt after a while when there’s no cushion. It also helps protect the body if you fall. But visceral fat is totally different. It accumulates around the organs, inside the body. Men tend to have it as a pot belly, women gain it in the hips and bottom, cushioning the female organs to protect potential babies.

It’s tough to lose belly fat.

When you burn fat, it’s a process that has two parts. First there’s the lipolysis process that’s triggered by catecholamines, a chemical in the body. The catecholamine attaches to the receptors on fat cells and that causes them to release the fatty acids—stored energy—into the blood. Second is the oxidation process where the cells take the cells from the blood and use the energy. In stage one, there are two different types of receptors for the catecholamine to attach—alpha and beta. The more beta-receptors, the easier it is for the catecholamine to attach and lipolysis to take place. The more alpha-receptors, the harder it is. Visceral fat tends to have more alpha-receptors, so they don’t release energy—fat—as easily. That’s why some areas for weight loss are more stubborn than others are.

The more weight you gain, the bigger the fat cells become.

As they become bigger, these cells tend to leak, both fatty acids and other molecules, into the liver. That’s one of the areas that help control blood sugar levels. The leaking fat cells also mess with your metabolism, too. You’ll end up with insulin spikes and valleys that can cause even more weight gain, ultimately ending in heart disease and diabetes.

  • In order to lose visceral fat around the belly, hips and buttocks, you have to lose weight all over your body.
  • Training on an empty stomach—called fasted training—helps shed bellly fat.
  • Make your cardio HIIT training. You can run, bicycle or whatever you choose, just alternate between high intensity and low to moderate intensity.
  • One study showed that coconut oil helped to shrink the waistline of obese women. There were two groups each walking 50 minutes daily, eating lower calorie diets and taking one supplement, either two tablespoons of soy or two tablespoons of coconut oil. The group that took the coconut oil supplement showed a reduction in the waistline circumference.

Keep Your Workout Safe

Keep Your Workout Safe

Definitely! You need to exercise regularly to stay healthy, but you also need to keep your workout safe. Too often people decide they’re going to start working out, but don’t consider the fact that they haven’t lifted anything heavier than a remote for years or haven’t run any farther than to the kitchen. It doesn’t take long before they have an injury that takes months to heal or ache so bad they never return to the gym. For those working with a personal trainer, the trainer has your back. They create programs designed for your fitness level and guide you every step of the way.

Always check with your health care professional first.

There are very few health conditions that don’t benefit from the right type of exercise, so most likely your health care professional will encourage you. If you have any type of condition that might require modifying and exercise or taking special precautions, it’s best to have the help of a personal trainer to guide you. Always make sure you share your health concerns with the trainer, so he or she can adjust the program to your needs. For instance, having back problems might require modifying some of the exercises so the problem isn’t exacerbated.

Start slowly.

Yes! You do want to push yourself, but not right away. You need to start slowly and gradually increase your activity. I can’t tell you how many clients I have seen that come to me after several workout failures. They often hit the gym hard the first day, because it felt good to be moving again, they were determined to get fit in one day and they didn’t feel any pain. By the next day, everything was sore and the excitement wore off. Within a week, all plans were just past ideas. Save the vigorous exercise for later, once you’re in better shape.

Vary your exercise.

Not only will varying your exercises help you work a variety of muscle groups and avoid plateauing. It also helps prevent injury. If you’re always doing one type of exercise and maybe even overdoing it, you run the risk of stress fractures and injuries that come from overworking muscles and tendons. If jogging is your love and you do too much, shin splints, knee problems, ankle and foot problems may become part of your life. Mix it up and get all types of exercise for a total body workout.

  • Make sure you know how to do the exercise correctly. Doing an exercise wrong can cause injury or minimize the benefit of the exercise. Trainers can help you learn the right way to do each movement.
  • Stretch before and after exercising. You need a warmup exercise, even before you stretch and cool down period.
  • Stay hydrated. Take a bottle of water with you to the gym or along with you as you run. Staying hydrated, particularly in warm weather should be a number one priority.
  • Avoid exercising outside when it’s too hot. You run the risk of heat stroke, overheating and dehydration. On hot days either exercise indoors where it’s air-conditioned or early in the morning or in the evening.

Could Antibiotics Make It Harder To Lose Weight?

More and more physicians and health care providers are reluctant to prescribe antibiotics. There’s good reason for that. It’s the fear of creating super bugs that are antibiotic resistant. However, there are other issues that need to be addressed when it comes to antibiotics. The comparison of data based on health and antibiotic use throughout the United States shows that areas with high antibiotic use coincide with areas that have high obesity levels. Is it just a coincidence or do antibiotics make it harder to lose weight?

The good and the bad of antibiotics.

The good part of having antibiotics available is that it kills off bacterial infections and helps you get well. That’s pretty obvious. However, antibiotic use has a dark side. One of the biggest problems is that it kills bacteria indiscriminately and not all bacteria is bad. You need the right balance of beneficial bacteria in you digestive system to keep your body functioning properly. If there’s a disruption in the balance, it can lead to chronic disease over time, such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. In areas with high antibiotic use there were also higher incidence of these conditions.

Farmers use antibiotics to promote weight gain of livestock.

I want to say, “Hmmmm.” Most the antibiotics produced in our country, about 70 percent, are actually used by farmers to help livestock gain weight. It’s given to healthy livestock in smaller doses, changing the gut flora, which then makes the livestock grow larger and heavier. One researcher, Dr. Martin Blaser from New York University Langone Medical Center, said that the antibiotics may cause a permanent change in the bacteria in the gut, while also disrupting the hormones related to hunger. That leads to an increased appetite and weight gain.

Studies show that friendly bacteria may help weight loss.

One animal study followed rats that were given lactic acid bacteria all the way from fetus to adulthood. They put on far less weight that the control group. Babies with higher amounts of bifidobacteria (good bacteria) had more protection against weight gain, according to another study. Another study showed that people who were obese could reduce belly fat by almost five percent and subcutaneous fat by three percent by just adding a type of fermented milk that’s rich in probiotics, to their diet for 12 weeks.

One study showed that boosting good bacteria by taking probiotics can help people with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is linked to obesity.

You can boost your healthy gut bacteria with live bacteria yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. Kimchi is also super good and good for gut bacteria.

If you have to take an antibiotic, avoid consuming sugar products and wait at least two hours after taking the antibiotic before eating or taking the probiotic.

Adding more fiber to your diet can also help good bacteria by providing them with nourishment. Vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans are good sources of fiber.


What Is Your Motivation?

What Is Your Motivation?

If your motivation to come to put on your workout clothes or bypass that Danish and grab a tangerine instead has started to slip to the wayside, you’re not alone. As a trainer, I hear this all the time from clients. Getting fit isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy either. It does require hard work at the gym on a consistent basis and let’s face it, sometimes you just would rather chill or follow your cravings for something super sweet. Keeping your motivation high so you can stick to the plan should be at the top of your priority list. Here’s a few things that might help.

Make it fun, so you’ll look forward to your next workout.

Making it fun is one way to change your perspective and change your mind about working out. You don’t have to stick with the same mundane workout, you can do things that are active, but fun. Go out for a night of dancing, but make sure you take a friend so you can dance every fast dance. If you don’t feel like going out, turn on some music and boogie down in the living room. If you have kids, let them join in, they’ll love it. Get a hula hoop or shoot some hoops. You’ll boost your energy and boost your motivation to the sky.

Make sure you put your workout in your schedule and keep a regular workout time.

Putting your workout time on your schedule makes it a higher priority item, not one you’ll get around to when you have a few extra minutes. Whether you use an app for your smartphone, your computer or go old school with a daily planner, creating a block of time for your workout that’s consistent should be a reoccurring high priority item that is always at the same time each day or every other day. That way, you’ll go on auto pilot and feel like something’s missing if you don’t go.

Find a friend who also shares your goals.

Getting a workout buddy isn’t always easy, especially if you’re new to the area or have a limited social life because you work all the time. Why not try some group classes? Group sessions with a personal trainer not only give you all the benefits of private sessions at a far lower price, it also puts you in contact with other like minded individuals. You’ll form bonds with these groups and often find people you’ll connect with immediately. When you workout with a friend, they miss you when you don’t show up, making you more accountable.

  • Write out your goals, make them measurable with a deadline. The clearer you are, the easier it is to follow and also know when you’ve reached a goal so you can celebrate.
  • Do something fun or funky to reward or punish yourself for not working out. Treat yourself to a favorite video when you go to the gym or without social media time (or other treat) if you don’t workout.
  • Focus on how great you’ll look in your new outfit and even how you’ll rub your great new look in the face of your most unfavorite nemesis. Rather than stewing over past insults, making yourself better is the best revenge.
  • Take it day-by-day and step-by-step until it becomes a habit. Vow just to change into workout clothes or go to the gym. Once you get there or get dressed, starting a workout is easy.

Fitness Gear You Can't Live Without

Fitness Gear You Can’t Live Without

Sure, all you need to workout is a plan, comfortable clothes and good shoes, but all the bells and whistles can make it more fun, more effective or more efficient. Here’s some of the latest new fitness gear you can’t live without, or at least ones that will motivate you more to stay focused and achieve your goals. There are innovations in fitness continually occurring, beyond the latest new styles in clothes. You might consider making one of these innovations a special treat for yourself when you reach a fitness goal. It just makes it more fun and can be super motivating.

The Nike Run X2 sunglasses are the best personalized glasses for outside exercise.

You can have these sunglasses made for your prescription if you want. If you’re a runner, these were made especially for you, but they’re also good for golf, tennis and cycling. They adapt to any light conditions and have interchangeable lenses. They provide for coverage for all areas and are extremely comfortable and stable. These are lightweight and fit snuggly with secure temple wrap arms and a ventilated nosepiece. You’ll have 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. You’ll have 100 percent UVA and UVB protection and look fabulous when you wear these sunglasses.

iHealth Core Scale will help you track your weight loss.

Maybe scales aren’t exactly what you had in mind when it comes to rewarding yourself, but this one is different. It not only shows your weight, it also measures eight other factors in your fitness. Those include your BMO—body mass index, body fat, bone mass, lean mass, water weight, muscle mass, daily calories and visceral fat—belly fat, the most dangerous and stubborn type— rating. Some come with a indoor temperature and humidity reading to help maintain the healthiest atmosphere for your home. This device holds you accountable and offers so much more information than the traditional scales. It’s actually fun to use too, especially when you combine it with the app that tracks your weight loss goals and monitors your progress.

Fooducate is an app you’ll appreciate if you’re learning to eat healthier.

Get help with your grocery shopping and plans to eat healthier with Fooducate. It analyzes the nutritional value and gives each food a grade. While it offers a free version, the free version only tells you how many calories to eat. To get the good stuff, like the ability to scan food at the grocery to see the nutritional value and alterernative options, you have to pay a small monthly amount.

  • If you need a little pampering, Moji Mini foot massager can provide it. It gives a great foot massage and is both small and portable to take along on fitcations.
  • Choose from the variety of heart rate monitors you wear like a wristwatch, with some less than thirty dollars. Some provide sleep monitoring and more.
  • Hyperice Venom is a portable heat and vibration back device that you can wear. It lets you bask in comfort after a tough workout or soothe sore muscles when you spend too much time at the desk.
  • Stay cool and look fabulous without having to bare your legs. If you prefer to keep your legs covered, but also want to stay cool, Climcacool Knit Workout Pants by Adidas are perfect for you.

How To Stay Healthy When You're Bored

How To Stay Healthy When You’re Bored

Boredom brings with it the urge for sugary treats or crunchy, salty snacks, but seldom the urge to eat a bowl of steamed veggies or an apple. That’s because people often eat when they’re bored to fill that empty gap and get a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. The empty gap isn’t in the stomach, but in the situation. If you’re bored, you’re not involved in anything that’s productive, exciting or rewarding, so you’re not getting any feedback from your brain in the form of dopamine, the feel good hormone our brain gives us as a reward. Instead, you turn to food to create that dopamine and not healthy food, but food associated with good times and enjoyment, like sweet sugary treats. You can stay healthy when you’re bored if you learn to identify emotional eating and replace it with other behavior.

Know what causes those binge snacks at night.

You probably don’t binge on snacks all the time. Maybe it’s just at night when you’re alone chilling and watching whatever’s on TV or at family get-togethers when you’ve told Aunt Grace for the hundredth time you’re living in the city and have a great job. Both are situations where you would love a feel good snack just for “something to do that feels good!” That’s when you reach for that Danish or the cake even though your stomach tells you that you’re full. That’s boredom eating.

Set an eating schedule.

Not everyone can eat only when they’re hungry. Too many emotions mix with the act of eating. Most of us need a cue. If boredom or other emotions mix into eating patterns, causing you to chronically overeat, the best way to stop the bingeing is to eat on schedule. Let the clock be your guide or at least close to it. Plan meals and snacks and stick to the schedule until it becomes second nature. Not only will your body tell you when you’re hungry, you won’t end up ravenous because you skipped a meal and overeat.

Make sure you have healthy foods in your diet.

Healthy foods include more than just veggies and fruit. You should also have a source of healthy protein and healthy fat. Both will keep you feeling fuller longer and satisfy hunger. Don’t be shocked about the healthy fat. Some fat is good and it keeps you feeling full. Some examples of foods with healthy fat are cheese, hard boiled eggs, avocados and even dark chocolate.

  • If you find you’re ready to snack because of boredom, take a walk instead. If that’s not possible, do a few exercises or run up and down the stairs. Do anything that gets you moving.
  • Create a list of small jobs you want to get done that take between 15 minutes to an hour. When you get bored, don’t reach for a snack but the list and get busy.
  • Grab a bottle of water. Not only does it give some hand to mouth action, often the signs of thirst are the same as those of hunger.
  • Brush your teeth. Yup, nothing sweet tastes good after you brush your teeth and most people won’t feel like eating once they do it.