To Weigh Or Not To Weigh: Should You Get On The Scale Or Not?

To weigh or not to weigh that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of knowing ones outrageous weight, or to take arms against the budge by simply ignoring the scale and trying to eat less and exercise more. For some of us, the scale is a tool. For others it’s the enemy.

Some health and fitness professionals have made a compelling case for ignoring the scale, saying that measuring one’s percentage of body fat is the most accurate way to track ones fitness level because it indicates a healthy body composition regardless of height and weight. Whether you decide to use the scale or not it’s important to keep track of your percentage of body fat.

Here are some general guidelines according to the American Council of Exercise:

Body Fat % Women:

Fit: 21-24%

Average: 25-31%

Obese: > 32%

Body Fat % Men:

Fit: 14-17%

Average: 18-24%

Obese: > 25%

So why bother weighing yourself at all?

My personal prejudice is weigh yourself at least once or twice a week. I do, and I find that facing my weight on a regular basis helps me stay on track. Believe me there have been times when I’ve dreaded getting on the scale. But I do it anyway because no matter what it says, I feel relief. I find it liberating. Why? Because now I know where I am and what I need to do next. It helps me maintain a healthy weight. Also the scale I have, measures my body fat too so I am able to keep track of that at the same time.

In my practice I have helped hundreds of people lose weight. And most of them initially fight me about getting on the scale and I understand this because I know that terror. Part of the process of losing weight is to prepare one’s self to do it.

If you are not psychologically ready to lose, stepping on the scale can be a real turn off and actually deter you from losing weight. But once you’ll ready, facing that number can jumpstart your weight loss program and keep you motivated.

I give my clients a baseline of their body fat percentage and get them to use the scale. Then we set up a diet and exercise plan. You can lose weight by diet alone but a larger percent of your weight loss will be taken more from lean muscle mass than from body fat. The winning combination is to reduce calorie intake, do cardio every other day and strength training at least a couple of days a week. Cardio burns calories and strength training raises your metabolism and builds lean muscle mass while you are losing. Losing about 1% body fat a month and 1-21/2 pounds a week is considered safe and realistic.

So I’ve made my case for using the scale as a tool, and I hope you’ll try it when you are ready. Regardless, to be or not to be at a healthy weight should not be in question.

Send your questions to askmirabai@movingfree.com

5 Most Important Workouts

I’d like to remind you to get moving again if you want to “live long and prosper”.

So to make it easy on you do these 5 Most Important Workouts at least 4-5 days a week even if you begin with a little as 5 minutes a day working up to about 30 minutes.

Tip: Plan your workout:

Try to exercise as much as you can at the same time every day.

Have your workout clothes and accessories ready ahead of time so you can grab and take them with you or put on and go!

1. Aerobic Training

Feeling sluggish? Believe it or not a daily dose of aerobic exercise can help provide you with more energy and stamina. Aerobics is any activity that uses your large muscle groups like brisk walking, swimming, jogging, biking, climbing stairs, or low impact cardio dance. Starting out with as little as 5 minutes a day and building up to 30 minutes will help lower your blood pressure, increase your good cholesterol, HDL, improve your lung function, strengthen your heart, burn calories and elevate your mood.

2. Muscle Strength

Flab is one of those things we all really hate. What’s worse than wearing something that will reveal that little wiggle.

Studies show that if we do nothing we will steadily increase body fat as we get older.

So an inactive 25 year old woman may be at 23% (normal range of %body fat) but if she stays inactive by the time she is in her 60’s she can be as high as 43%.

The good news is this is completely reversible by adding some strength training exercises. And it doesn’t take much: just twice a week for 30 minutes or so.

Make sure you leave 24-48 hours in between for muscles to recover and grow.

Use your own body weight with push-ups (beginners can do them against a wall and modified squats or lunges. Start with a few and build up to 15 reps.

Or use resistance bands or hand and ankle weights. For this, you may need some professional help like purchasing an exercise video with a certified instructor, joining a gym or working with a certified personal trainer. Once you learn a simple routine you can do you can slowly increase the weight as you get stronger.

Tip: Start with 8 reps for each exercise. If you can’t finish the set the weight is too heavy. And if you can do a few more, you need more resistance. The key is to listen to your body.

3. Flexibility training

When was the last time you could touch your toes? Or in the morning when you wake up do you feel stiff? If this sounds like you then doing a few stretches every day could help you move more freely and even reduce muscle aches and pains.

Here are 4 easy exercises that targets some those tight muscles:

Neck Stretch (try doing it in the shower when your muscles are warming up)

Back Stretch

Hamstring stretch

Calf stretch

Try holding the stretch for at least 10-20 seconds!

Try doing an easy stretch or yoga video or class even once a week can help increase your flexibility.

4. Balance training

Because we see in older adults a loss of balance, which results in more falls," noted Holland.

— You can do this standing in line at the grocery store

— Stand on one leg and see if you can let go of the shopping cart

— Hold for about 10 seconds

— Also try standing on your tippy-toes and holding for a few seconds

— Balance should be done everyday — all you need is two to three minutes

5. Core training

"We see so many people as they get older avoiding their abs, which results in a bad back," said Holland. "They're not really supporting upper torso."

— Try a few minutes of abdominal exercises

— Reverse curl while you're lying in back and pull your knees into you

— Hold for five seconds and release

— Start with 10 reps a day and work your way higher

— Crunches are key — not full sit-ups — because some people can do more damage than good

— Keep back on the floor and don't go all the way up

— Really concentrate so you can feel you're abdominal wall contracting

— This will help support your back

Contact Mirabai at askmirabai@movingfree.com

Link Between Anger and Cholesterol?

Q: For years people have said, that getting angry can raise your blood pressure but I recently heard that it can also raise your cholesterol. Sounds crazy. Is there any truth to this?

A: Yes its true.

A study with 103 healthy mid-aged women conducted by the University of Maryland and published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that women with angry dispositions, given to frequent outbursts of temper, had higher cholesterol levels than those who were more even tempered. What all these women had in common besides having a short fuse is they were all sedentary and deconditioned.

But what I found most interesting is the study also found that having a short fuse didn’t elevate the cholesterol in women who were physically fit.

So the message here is if you are not already exercising on a regular basis, its time to get going. Even 30 minutes most days of moderate exercise can do the trick.

Then go and scream to your heart’s content.

Send your Moving Free® with Mirabai questions to: askmirabai@movingfree.com

Managing our Weight: Through Thick and Thin

Summer into Fall is when many of us have trouble managing our weight.

The key elements of maintaining a proper weight are learning to control portion size, eating a balanced diet, getting in touch with your hunger and exercising on a regular basis. Though exercise has always helped to burn calories, lose body fat and keep muscle tone, exercise alone will not keep your weight in check. Eating only when you are truly hungry can help you stay on track. Many of us engage in emotional eating: we eat when bored, depressed angry or even happy. To curb this tendency we must reckon with our inner selves. This can be getting on a scale, putting on a pair of pants that used to fit, and writing down what we are putting into our mouths.

For me, maintaining my proper weight is a constant struggle but it is one I embrace and so can you. Remember, the real reason for food is to keep us alive and well.

Choosing healthful foods is integral to feeling good and possibly preventing diabetes, cancer and heart disease and numerous other health problems. Between fast food and vending machines, it’s often a challenge to eat basic foods that are not prepared or processed with too much salt, sugar and preservatives. Yet a wealth of fresh vegetables, fruits, dried beans, whole grains and nuts are available if you just know what to look for and make time to prepare nutritious meals.

As we age, our immune systems become more vulnerable – especially if we are recovering from illness. The food and agriculture industries are allowed by the FDA to use a multitude of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and even insect-based dyes to produce as much food as cheaply, and therefore profitably, as possible.

The movement toward organic foods and support for local farming in the U.S. has grown as more people become aware and concerned about the untested and unlabeled additives in our food supply. Although organic foods are often more expensive, the cost can be balanced by avoiding non-nutritious prepared foods – such as snack items, candy, sugary sodas and frozen meals – while choosing fresh produce, dried beans, whole grains and a limited amount of low fat dairy and lean meat and poultry.

Here is an important meal tip; eat a healthy breakfast. Why? Because it will give you energy to last through the morning so that you are not ravenous and prone to overeating at lunch. For the longest-lasting energy, balance three types of food in your breakfast: A serving of whole grains (a piece of whole wheat toast, a half-cup of oatmeal or a serving of whole-grain cereal per size listed on the package); two servings of fruits (which can include a glass of 100 percent juice) and a bit of low fat protein – such as yogurt, an egg, reduced-fat cheese, or skim milk on whole grain cereal. In calories and nutrition, it will beat a sugary, fatty pastry any day. Studies show that women who eat a healthy breakfast each day have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight.

Informative food-related web sites are:

Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org)
American Institute for Cancer Research (www.aicr.org)
USDA Food and Drug Administration (www.nutrition.gov)
Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org)