Is a flat stomach impossible after having children?

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’m having a few problems getting my flat stomach back after having a child (16 months ago now). It’s still stretched and flabby. Am i wasting my time hoping that excercise can tone it back to its flat pre-childbirth state (and will the skin always be this stretched?). Is my only hope surgery? As you age, there is a tendency for all people to get fatter in the lower stomach.

 

Look at all the 50-60 year old people around. They didn’t always look like that. Also, most women tend to retain a little fat after childbirth. Perhaps it is just because of the change in lifestyle that occurs. Exercising will reduce fat, but the exercise has to include low level cardio-vascular work performed for a reasonable length of time. Also, I think the effort you have to place in exercise has to increase, which is very difficult for young mothers who now have new responsibilities.

 

To really get back a flat stomach, I think it takes doing three cardio workouts a week and three weight training sessions a week. I also understand that for most young mothers that prescription isn’t entirely feasible. Unfortunately, that is what it takes. Surgery is a short term solution. After a few years, the same problem reoccurs because you have not dealt with the fundamental problem.

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Missing breakfast and exercising – a good way to burn fat?

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So what would happen if I woke up one morning and skipped breakfast(so I would have a small amount of carbs in my body) and went out for a real long walk of about say 10 miles? In such a case would both theory 2 & 3 kick into action and if so which would win out? The reason I ask, is that I want to know if starving yourself and exercising is an effective way of reducing body fat. I know that if a body is finding it difficult to locate an energy source it will also go for muscle tissue but won’t the exercise be helping against that and thus forcing fats to be targeted. I could very easily go for such a plan cause I hate eating for at least 3 hours after I wake up and even when I miss it, I don’t feel any hungrier during the rest of the day than when I do have a full breakfast.

 

Anyway what do the experts in here think? The worst of it will be the scientific basis and source of the half truths and options you may receive. To start with, your summary of the energy provision in steps 1, 2 and 3 is too simplified. The heart tends to run on fat stores, the brain is a heavy user of carbohydrates. Muscles will use different sources of energy depending on the demands being made on them and the fuels available. Increasing heart rate with exercise is good for fat usage. However, if the exercise is too intense (ie. not sustainable for say 20′-40′) then different proportions of carbs and fat are utilised. Low intensity and long duration exercise will best target fat usage – so your walk ain’t such a bad idea. As far as missing breakfast is concerned, it is not recommended because the body, not having eaten for perhaps over 12 hours, will tend to lay down fat with any calories it eventually receives.

 

This is a reaction to the virtual starvation from which it is suffering. Regular, small snacks avoiding simple carbs (sugars, refined flour, white rice and pasta etc to avoid fast absorption) are healthier. Diets also impact on fuel storage and use and here are the grounds for controversy. Those such as the Adkins diet (low carb diet) claim to promote benign (sic) ketosis (ie. fat burning metabolism) and are based on quoted (by Adkins) research. Received wisdom (sic) is to keep a diet which contains wholemeal carbs (to avoid insulin spikes which also promote fat depositing) and low fat.

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Live Longer Without Exercise

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Well, this is kind of missing the point of cardio exercise, which is that by exercising the heart muscle it becomes far more fit for everyday activity, using far fewer heartbeats overall through the day. The heartbeats used in short, intense exercise are made up in a hurry by those saved the rest of the time. If they are using their HRM to get their heart beat as rapidly as possible, then they are using the device for the wrong reason. Do you know people that do this, or are you just assuming this is how they train?

 

I use my HRM to make sure I am in the proper training zone based on a percentage of my maximal heart rate. I rarely go to my maximal, except to find out what it is so that I can train accordingly in the other zones. Most of the time I use my HRM to make sure I’m not training too hard. I’ve heard that theory. Due to my exercise program my total beats per week has decreased roughly 32%. Here’s how I figured it: my exercise time (where my heart rate will be elevated) takes up an average of 8 hours per week. Roughly 4.7% of the week is spent at a heart rate of 136 BPM. The other 95.3% is spent either with normal daily movement or sleeping. My resting pulse is 36 BPM. Before I started exercising my resting pulse was 60 BPM.

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Pizza High in Calories, Fat

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Every once in a while I make a pizza, using whole wheat flour. I make the crust fairly thin, as I think whole wheat tends to overwhelm the veggies if the crust is too thick. I wipe the unbaked crust with a bit of olive oil and top it with a spicy tomato sauce plus diced plum tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, diced zucchini, and whatever else I have in my fridge that sounds good, such as bell peppers. If you don’t use cheese, the quality of the tomato sauce is key. I like pizza this way and so do my kids, even without cheese and pepperoni. I’d say it’s pretty healthy. Whether it’s real pizza or not, it’s reality, and it’s what people are stuffing themselves with.

 

And let’s forget the stuffed crust pizza for a moment and look at a basic piece of Pizza Hut Pepperoni pizza. As the recent study points out, a piece of pizza such as this, has the fat and calories of a Quarter Pounder with cheese. Other then the fries most people would order with it, most people stop at one Quarter pounder. Not too many guys stop at one piece of Pizza Hut pizza. They eat 4, 5, 6, 7, pieces for sure. So even at 4 pieces, you’re eating the equivalent of 4 quarter pounders. So as far as energy and fat goes, this is an insane amount to eat, but on the filling side, it’s relatively easy to do. Plus, guys in particular, inhale there food. They eat so fast that they eat far more than any one person would need to carry them through to their next meal.

 

So I agree, a tradional Italian pie, or even a slab of New York pie is probably an okay meal. Sure it has it’s share of fat and calories, but you have to eat, and tradional pizza is not a bad choice. Where I come from (a city in western Canada), we have two pizza chains in particular that make the most decadent Pizza Hut pizza look wimpy. I guess they would compare to some Chicago style pizzas I once saw on tv. 3 to 4 inches thick, with a enough meat to feed a small village. They soak through the bottom of the box after 15 minutes.

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What is the best timing for eating and exercise?

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I want to lose some weight, gain some strength and get fitter (in that order). I have some lingering joint problems, so I’m going with a very low impact regimen of walking, a gym machine (rowing, lat pull-downs and presses), plus squats and lunges. But how should I time my intake of carbs, protein, etc relative to the exercises to get best results? Current thinking (at least in some quarters) is to eat several (6-8) equal sized meals a day spread out every 3 hours or so over the day. The total intake for the day should equal what you or somebody has figured out to be your calories for the day. In other words lots of 300-400 cal snacks instead of three square meals. A serving size (of fruit, veggie, etc.) is about what fits in a cupped hand. The four fingers aligned straight across and the nail of the index finger nestled in the first joint of the thumb.

 

Each meal should have carbos, protein, fruit and a vegetable. Cut way back on the fats and no sugars/alcohol. Start looking for low or no fat foods…especially no fat milk if you like milk. You may want to increase the number of calories taken in by protein if you are doing a lot (60+ minutes per day) of heavy weight lifting. For a short period (8 weeks or so), you can go up to about 1 gram of protein per day for every pound of weight. A half to 3/4 gram per pound of body weight is reasonable to start out with. If you are hungry all the time, increase the protein a bit (5% or so). If you are tired a lot of the time increase the carbos a bit (and get enuf sleep). It takes some tinkering. The idea is that you don’t want your body to think it has to store up because there will be no next meal. Space the meals out and make the nutrients available all day/night long for rebuilding.

 

Except for a full stomach that might give you a problem if you exercise too strenuously (the blood goes to the muscles instead of the stomach for digestion), it doesn’t really matter a lot when you eat/exercise. It seems that it is no problem eating — its getting the time to exercise that bothers most people. Find a time that is easier for you to do EVERY day. I find it psychologically warm and fuzzy if I suck on a hard candy before starting an hour of exercise. I figure 14 calories just makes me feel better. Don’t waste that time exercising. Get that heartrate and respiration rate up there and keep it up the entire time.

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Eat More and Die Faster, Eat Less and Live Longer

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

FOR MORE than 60 years, scientists have known that animals that eat less live longer, healthier lives. And now new research presented here Thursday shows that people who follow a low-calorie, yet nutrient-rich diet, also lower their risk factors for serious disease. With only 2.5 years of follow-up, the data still aren’t in on whether study participants actually added years to their life spans. But men and women “on a low-calorie, high-quality diet experienced the same broad physiological improvements that we see on animals on such diets,” said study author Dr. Roy L. Walford, professor of pathology at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Therefore, there is every reason to believe that the other effects seen in animals – retardation of aging, life extension and a sharp incidence in risk of disease – also apply to humans.”

 

The new findings grew out of the experimental study known as Biosphere 2, in which four men and four women, including Walford, sealed themselves inside a closed ecological area from 1991 to 1993. The enclosure comprised seven biomes: rain forest, Savannah, ocean, marsh, desert, farm land and a habitat for humans and domestic animals. All organic materials, all water and nearly all air were recycled, and virtually all food was grown inside. Over the course of their stay, the men lost an average of 18 percent of their total body weight; women, 10 percent. Most of the weight loss occurred during the first six months of their stay, Walton reported. Average blood pressure decreased an average of 20 percent.

 

And indicators for diabetes – glucose, insulin and glycated hemoglobin – dropped about 30 percent. Cholesterol was lowered from an average of 193 to 123, and triglycerides also improved, Walton reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. WHAT IS A LOW-CALORIE DIET? So just what is a low-calorie diet? “On average, about 1,800 a day,” Walford says, “but coupled with intense physical activity to burn off those calories.” During their stays in the Biosphere, participants exercised vigorously six days a week. Also, it’s not just a matter of eating less and working out more, he stressed. “If you took the average American’s diet and just lowered it, to total 1,800 calories a day, most americans would end up starving themselves nutritionally.” rather exclusively, vegetarian, he said.

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Workout and sauna/steambath

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Anyone have any ideas as to the validity of the following: a girl I met at the gym a couple years ago told me that taking a sauna or steambath immediately after a workout was bad for you. She was a naturopath, and claimed that the sweat you produced in the sauna caused to lose too many minerals after all the ones you lost working out. When I remarked that the heat loosened me up, she replied that massage was a much better alternative. (Of course, she wasn’t offering!)

 

Any thoughts on this, hopefully backed by some evidence? I’d hate to give up my steambath/ice water bath post-workout torture. The Fitness Theory & Practice manual from AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) states that saunas, hot tubs and even hot showers should be avoided immediately following exercise. The heat causes the blood vessels to dilate and this, along with the fact that the blood tends to be pooled in the extremities following vigorous exercise, causes the heart and brain to receive less blood and can cause overheating.

 

Seems to me that minerals can be replaced. You have to replace the ones you lost while exercising, so why can’t you replace the ones you lose from a session in the hottub? Her logic just doesn’t pan out. I take vitamins and supplements all day long, mostly due to my arthritis and my desire to treat it as naturally as possible. I don’t have any worries that I can’t replace substances that my body needs.

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Cholesterol and Exercise

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Some people will see a reduction following beginning an exercise program; others will not and some (granted few) will see an increase. (I will stick with total cholesterol for now). I recently saw a presentation from a prof at U of Maryland who is working with a geneticist. It seems that there are genes identified with cholesterol porduction (I will admit my ignorance in the area of genetics).

 

When this prof went back to people in his studies and took DNA samples (a small amount of blood I believe), he and the geneticist found that those who had a certain amino acid sequence on this gene were responders and those who did not were not responders to exercise lowering cholesterol. These results have been published so a physician could find them with a computer search (as could you) of medical and/or exercise databases for journals. the point here is that some respond and others do not.

 

In general studies show lowered total cholesterol (TC) and increase HDL (the “good” cholesterol). Diet also plays a role as do your genes in more direct ways. Some people just do not have high TC regardless of what they eat; some look at Ben and Jerry’s and the TC increases. However, exercise has so many other positive effects and reduces a major risk factor (inactivity) that is worth taking up even with the reduction in TC or change in HDL.

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Vertical Leap

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Recently I’ve been trying to increase the max height of my vertical jump. I’ve been told by one person that it’s mostly calves, but I have a problem believing this. He also recommended high rep stuff as opposed to high weight leg workouts. To make matters worse, I tend to stay away from weight rooms and stick to exercises involving only my body weight (perhaps brainwashing by my school of martial arts: “weights make you slow”).

 

I am not an expert in this field but I have heard that jump squats can help. You take some dumbells of appropriate weight in each hand and actually jump up and down. There used to be aproduct on the market called The LEAPER. It looked a standing calve machine with hydrolics instead of weights. YOu would put your shoulders under it and just jump against the force of the hydrolics. I’ve seen a shoe that’s suppose to increase your vertical leap. It looks really weird.

 

It’s a shoe that has some sort of extension on the front of the shoe. You may have seen them on “Seinfeld”. They did a comedy routine with Kramer on these shoes. They are real, though. A friend of mine got them and said he increased his vertical leap by more than a foot! I’ve never seen the shoe in a store, but I’d suggest looking in the sports stores.

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Diet, Exercise & Weight Loss

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I need some advice on my diet and exercise and how they can be adjusted so that I can lose the last of the jello that hangs ’round my middle. I apologize in advance for this long post, but I’ve been stuck for a while and I want to be as complete as possible in the hope of getting some truely useful advice. Background: I’m 5’9″ 183lbs, currently. About 5 years ago I lost 60 pounds to get to this weight.

 

In that time I have changed my eating and exercising habits significantly and have been able to keep this weight off. I work out very regularly and have no problem maintaining my weight at this level. The Problem: I would very much like to get my weight down to around 170. I’ve been close to that weight before, and it is there that I lose most of the flabbies that belie the good shape I am in. Unfortunately, no matter what type of diet or exercise routine I have tried I can’t lose the weight. It comes down very grudgingly, and is difficult to maintain. My body keeps fighting back to the low 180s.

 

As I said earlier, I have maintained very regular workouts for the last few years. In the last six months I have dieted as well, but to no effect. I work out 6 days a week. I run on all six days on a treadmill at 7.5 MPH. On non lifting days I go an hour, on the three days a week I lift I go 35 minutes. I have been keeping my calories at or below 2000 per day with approximately a 70/20/10 carb/protein/fat mix.

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