Fat 2 Fit Radio Tops the Charts in Canada

After 2 years of obscurity in Canada, Fat 2 Fit Radio has finally taken off and jumped all the way to number 1 in the Canadian iTunes store. Fat 2 Fit Radio has been in the top 20 in the U.S. for the last year and a half, but I’m a Canadian, and I want the show to do well at home too!

Dieting is for the Dogs!

I have 2 dogs – a fat one and a skinny one. They managed to get there by following their own appetites and eating until full. I would usually “free feed” the dogs and they would choose how much they wanted to eat. When I saw the food bowl was empty, I would just fill it up. The older dog is the skinny one and is 5 years older than the fat one. This worked well until the new dog came. The new dog is named Maggie and she will continue to eat anything until it is entirely gone or she makes herself sick.

Maggie is a Norwegian Elkhound and is a small to medium sized dog. A year ago, when I took her to the Vet for her vaccinations, I was told that she was extremely overweight and that I had to do something about it. At the time she was 66 lbs. The Vet suggested that I buy their prescription “Reducing Diet Dog Food”. The food had a lot of bulk to it and fairly low calories. She would be able to eat the same amount of food, but lose weight at the same time. I checked out the dog food and it was over $100 per bag! I’m simply too cheap to more than double the amount that I spend on dog food.

I had been hosting Fat2Fit Radio for over 6 months at this time and a couple of things came to mind:
1. I’m a fitness professional, how can I have an unhealthy fat dog? It’s actually embarrassing – I mean, who is responsible for what my dogs eat?
2. Caloric balance works for every human and animal. There is nothing special about this law if you compare it to dogs. “Eat less and exercise more” actually works for everyone and everything.
3. The Vet was looking at making money by suggesting an expensive “treatment” instead of offering “lifestyle change” advice. I was surprised that the Vet didn’t offer to send Maggie to a “Fat Camp” for dogs.

Instead of going broke buying expensive diet dog food, I simply followed my own advice that I constantly give out on the show. Figure out how much you can eat at your goal weight, and just start eating like that thinner person right now. For me it was super easy. I looked at the side of the bag of dog food where it tells you how much to feed dogs of certain sizes. I started feeding Maggie the amount of food that a 50 lb dog is supposed to eat. I measured out her meals with a measuring cup every day and didn’t let her finish off the other dog’s food. I still fed her the same amount of treats that I always did.

Last week, Maggie went back to the vet for her vaccinations and check-up again. In one year, she lost 11 lbs. She was now down to 55 lbs! She lost 17% of her body weight in a year, without doing any sort of special expensive diet or feeling deprived or hungry. She is now in the normal range for her breed. I’m going to continue to feed her the amount of food that a 50 lb dog should eat and eventually she will weigh 50 lbs.

A year is a long time and people or animals can make huge improvements in their health in that time. I was really suprised at the amount of weight that she had lost in the last year and I realized that weight loss isn’t “rocket science”. Eat like that thinner person (or dog) that you want to become and you will eventually get there and stay there for the rest of your life.

Welcome To Jeff’s Kitchen

The following post was written by Russ Turley:

Jeff sent me this picture a couple weeks ago and I was way impressed. I told him he should post it, but I couldn’t wait to show you all. He also sent along a description of what you see below.

“Here are my next 35 lunches. I usually eat 2 of these a day for lunch and afternoon meal, but miss a couple on weekends when we eat out so I now cook about every 3 weeks. It is a total of 9lbs of chicken breasts, 16 lbs of mixed vegetables and 18 cooked cups of basmati rice.”

Let’s break it down into calories for you. The chicken breast in each meal is 3 oz and about 150 calories per meal. The rice is a half cup which is just over 100 calories per meal. And finally the vegetables are a cup and a half and account for 150 calories per meal, give or take a few calories. This is 400 calories of clean eating.

This is what it looks like to prepare meals in advance. Jeff is living the lifestyle that we talk about on the show. He’s prepared meals for 3 weeks in I’d guess an hour, two if he was really slow. He doesn’t have to think about where he’s going to get lunch from, or if he runs out of time the night before to prepare a lunch. A quick trip to the freezer and he’s out the door. Sure that freezer is bigger than my whole kitchen apparently, but it’s easy none the less.

How could you make your life easier by preparing meals in advance? You don’t have to prepare this many meals in advance, but what about a weeks worth of lunches? How about boiling a dozen eggs for breakfast for the next couple weeks? Even the smallest effort in advance in the kitchen will make it easier throughout the week to stay on track toward your goal.

Make the time to prepare yourself good foods in advance and the weight will take care of itself.

Weight Loss Motivation – Part 2

We always end off the show with a motivational quote that will hopefully help you on the road of long-term weight loss and health success. Here are the quotes again from shows 9-16.

“The exercise is the spark and the food is the fuel, without both you’ll see no flames – no results.”
- Bill Phillips

“The fat person with all the knowledge, education and resources… and a crap attitude.. will stay fat. The fat person with limited knowledge, resources and genetic potential.. and a great attitude… will produce much better results every time.”
- Buzzle.com

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.”
- Unknown

“The strangest secret in the world is that you become what you think about.”
- Earl Nightingale.

“We are engineered as goal-seeking mechanisms. We are built that way. When we have no personal goal which we are interested in and which ‘means something’ to us, we are apt to go around in circles, feel lost and find life itself aimless and purposeless. We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.”
- Maxwell Maltz

“See, now’s the time of the meal when you start getting the McStomach ache. You start getting the McTummy. You get the McGurgles in there. You get the McBrick, then you get the McStomach ache. Right now I’ve got some McGas that’s rockin’. My arms… I feel like I’ve got some McSweats goin’. My arms got the McTwitches going in here from all the sugar that’s going in my body right now. I’m feeling a little McCrazy.”
- Morgan Spurlock (while consuming a double quarter-pounder supersize meal)

“For me, it might sound cliche, but beauty for me really does start on the inside. It’s like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. Then, whatever you can do on the outside is all like a bonus.”
- Queen Latifah

Walking or Running – Which Burns More Calories?

A common misconception is that you burn way more calories when you go for a run compared to going for a walk – but this isn’t actually true.

It is true that you will burn calories at a faster rate if you run, but whether you cover a 3 mile distance in an hour or a half hour, when you get to the finish line your body did the same amount of work energy-wise.

The scientific way to look at Work is the formula: Work = Force X Distance. It takes energy to move your body over distance. If your body burns 10 calories to move a certain distance, going 5 times farther will burn 5 times the calories regardless of your speed.

The biggest factor in how many calories you burn is your weight. The heavier you are, the more energy it takes to move your body.

The Technical formula to figure this out is: Kilograms X Kilometers X 1.036

Here is the Imperial version: 0.76 Calories X Lbs X Miles

Here is the Combination version: 0.47 Calories X Lbs X Kilometers

For example, here is the Imperial formula for a 150 lb person who walks/runs 3.1 miles:
Total Calories = 0.76 X 150 X 3 = 353 calories burned

Here is the combination formula for a 150 lb person who walks/runs 5 kilometers:
Total Calories = 0.47 X 150 X 5 = 353 calories burned

Don’t get me wrong, there are benefits of moving your body at a faster rate. You won’t get a cardiovascular workout by moving slowly, and you won’t get any “after-burn” effect from a casual stroll, but if your concern is getting in some activity that will burn extra calories, walking works!

So if you are watching tv at home and using a treadmill, you can easily walk 5 K or 3 Miles in an hour without dripping in sweat and burn the same calories as a run.

Fat 2 Fit Radio Gets Noticed in The Guardian

Out of the blue, the show received a positive review in Britain’s “The Guardian”.   It was a short review and had a few factual errors, but it is great to see that we are starting to show up on the international radar.

The review was written by Elizabeth Mahoney and she said that “you can rest easy that our hosts know what they’re talking about”, and that our “intense gaze at the world through weight-tinted specs goes down well with listeners.”

However, the absolute best line in the entire piece was “Co-host Russ Turley… sounds endearingly like one of The Muppets”!!!!  Which Muppet she was referring to is not exactly clear…

Here is a link to the review:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/sep/10/radio.radio

Weight Loss Motivation Part 1

We always end off each show of Fat 2 Fit Radio with a motivational quote that will hopefully help you on the road of long-term weight loss and health success. Here are the quotes from shows 1-8.

“Knowledge is power, but in reality knowledge is only Potential Power. You actually have to get off your butt and do something to make anything happen.”
- Anonymous

“A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step and a journey of 100 lbs starts with the first ounce.”
- Unknown

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.”
- Helen Keller

“If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

“If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way. Don’t wait for great opportunities, seize common, everday ones and make them great”
- Napoleon Hill

“Some succeed because they’re destined; others succeed because they’re DETERMINED.”
- Anon

“Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen.”
- Peter Marshall

You cannot improve what you cannot measure, just make sure you are measuring the right thing.
- Anonymous

Why You Get Fatter as You Get Older

Let’s face it, as you age your body not only ages – it also changes. How much you actually weigh become less and less of an issue for your overall appearance.

Here is an example. Does a 95-year-old woman physically look the same as when she was 16 if she weighs the same amount? Of course not, and I’m not just talking about wrinkles. If you compared her arms and her legs, there would be a huge difference in tone and shape. The older person would also be larger and softer – they would not be able to fit into the same clothes even though they weighed the same amount.

Here is the reason: After age 30, you lose 6 lbs of muscle every decade. If you weigh the same at age 30 and 40, you will be fatter at age 40. You would have 6 lbs less of muscle and 6 lbs more of fat. A pound of fat is many times larger in volume than a pound of muscle. A pound of muscle also naturally burns 30-50 calories per day, whereas a pound of fat only burns 3 calories.

The fact that people naturally lose muscle as they age is also the reason that people put on weight as they age. Here is an example that will show you how the average man can gain 60-100 lbs in his lifetime without ever over-eating. I will round some numbers to make it easier to follow.

Here is an average man.

30 years old, 5′10″, 180 lbs and moderate activity. He will burn about 2,500 calories per day to maintain his weight.

At age 40, if he has now lost 5 lbs of muscle, he will need to eat 2,300 calories per day to maintain his weight. (5lbs of muscle X 40 calories per day average = 200) He can easily gain 10 lbs per year, if he continues to eat the same amount of calories that he could eat at age 30.

At age 50, he has now lost another 5 lbs of muscle. He will now have to eat 2,100 calories per day to maintain his weight. He can continue to easily gain another 10 lbs per year, if he continues to eat like he did when he was 30.

So what is the point? If at age 30, you eat the perfect healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight, in the future, you will gain weight on that same healthy diet.

So, what can I do? You can either eat less an less as you age, or you can maintain and hopefully gain a little muscle as you age. Resistance training is now known to be very important at all ages. You don’t need to become a hardcore bodybuilder, you just need to do enough to maintain what you have. Isn’t this a good reason be active?

How to Cook Oatmeal in Advance

Oatmeal is probably one of the best things that you can eat for breakfast. It is low in calories and full of complex carbohydrates. Those are the types of carbs that keep you fuller longer. If you eat things such as donuts or pastries, those are made up of simple carbohydrates, and you will be hungry very soon.

When you are trying to lose weight, the goal is to eat food that is low in calorie and keeps you full for a long time. Of course you should always have some lean protein with every meal as well.

There are three problems with oatmeal. The first, is that the pure, healthy oats take time to cook. The second, is that if you choose to eat the instant oatmeal, it is generally full of sugar and you lose most of the benefit of eating oatmeal. The third problem, is that when you cook oatmeal in advance, it can be very unappetizing to eat the next day!

On an earlier show of Fat2Fit Radio, Jeff discussed his method of preparing oatmeal ahead of time. He cooks his oatmeal in a large batch and then divides the servings into containers. He then adds in scrambled eggs full of vegetables on top of the oatmeal and then keeps it in the fridge. His breakfasts will last for two weeks without spoiling. In the morning, they are microwaved together and then mixed together. With a little ketchup on top, it is a very filling breakfast. It will not win any awards for presentation, but it actually tastes better than it sounds.

We recently received two other suggestions from listeners to the show:

#1 – Fried Slices of Oatmeal! – from Ellen

“I listened with interest about your experience of cooking oatmeal for later & here’s how I do it. I cook a large batch of steel-cut oatmeal & put the leftovers in a cake pan. Then, I cover & refrigerate it, so it solidifies into a loaf. When I’m ready for breakfast again, I slice off a piece & sauté it in a little bit of butter or olive oil. You can also pour some maple syrup or honey on it. It tastes so much better this way than trying to re-create the porridge texture for the leftovers.“

#2 – Make Your Own Instant Oatmeal! – from Gail

“Here’s a recipe for instant oatmeal packets, so you can control the sugar and salt.
Makes 8 packets
3 cups quick oats, salt, sugar (or sweetener)
8 zip sandwich bags

Process 1 cup of oats in a blender, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is as fine as flour.
In each sandwich bag measure 1/4 cup oats, 2 tablespoons oat flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 T sugar or equivalent sweetener

To prepare:
Mix a packet with 3/4 cup boiling water, stir, and let set 2 minutes.

Variations:
Apple Cinnamon: add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons chopped dried apples to each packet.
Cinnamon Spice: ad 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a scant 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to each packet
Raisin Brown Sugar: replace white sugar or sweetener with brown sugar or sweetener and add 1 tablespoon raisins to each packet.
Wheat germ: add 2 tablespoons wheat germ to each packet”

Enjoy Everybody!

This is a re-post of an article that I wrote earlier at Fat2Fit Radio. There are some great comments and more oatmeal recipes in the comments there. Here is a direct link to those comments.

Why Pharmacies Sell Fad Weight Loss Supplements

When you look at the Weight Loss Supplements such as Xenadrine, Trimspa, Ripped Fuel etc, it may surprise you that these are not medications. They are only considered as “dietary supplements” and are regulated by the FDA as food products, not drugs. They do not have to go through regulations regarding their quality, safety or effectiveness like regular medications do. If they claim of cure or treat any disease they would then be classified as a drug and have to prove effectiveness, safety and go through stringent quality controls.

When one looks for the scientific studies and evidence of effectiveness for these products it is very slim indeed. Some may show some temporary short-term weight loss, but none are proven for any significant or long terms weight loss. Many of their ingredients are proven harmful and stressful to your body. For example, Zantrex 3 has the equivalent amount of caffeine of 30.6 cans of cola in its daily dose. It is common knowledge that caffeine can cause severe headaches and a poor night’s sleep.

You will be very hard pressed to find a competent Pharmacist who would recommend any of these products, so why do the Pharmacies sell them?

Profit – simple as that. The corporations that run the large chain pharmacies will all claim that it is a question about choice and they are in the business of promoting health.

That argument falls flat on its face for all of the Pharmacies that sell cigarettes. Have you ever gone to your Pharmacist and asked which cigarette is the healthiest for you and will promote your active and healthy lifestyle? Of course you haven’t because it is clearly obvious that they are not healthy. For that matter, you could ask the same question about the candy and junk food that they sell…

Products like cigarettes are commonly known to be bad for you, but when Pharmacies sell questionable weight loss supplements so near to “real” medicines, it adds a legitimacy to them, and I think that is morally wrong. People should have an expectation that “medicine-like” or “medicine-looking” products that they purchase at a Pharmacy are backed by scientific evidence, are quality controlled, and proven effective.

The weight loss supplements that look like medications should stay in the health food and supplement stores, because they are “food supplements” and not quality controlled medicines.

For more information, we discuss this in detail in Fat 2 Fit Radio Show #18.

Fat 2 Fit Support Group Update

This was written by Russ Turley on the Fat2Fit Radio site and re-posted here.

While checking out the support forum, I checked out a topic asking for information about flavored waters. It was from Sam Gillie.

Sam asked, “I have a problem of drinking too much soda. And to consume all water I get burned out. I have started drinking some flavored water that has no calories, sodium, caffeine… What is everyone’s take on this stuff??” The members of the forum had some great responses.

John replied, “That stuff usually has aspartame in it. I don’t think that is good for you. Nothing beats water, but if it helps ween you off regular colas then I’d drink the flavored water. Just do it in moderation.”

Tex also responded, “They have crystal light which is 5 to ten calories, has many different flavors and it helped me drink alot of water at first. CL is a bit strong and flavored for me now, but it helped me alot at first. Maybe ya could try that instead?”

Some sage advice there. There were also responses by 4 other forum members. My point is, there is a lot of good information being aggregated at the forum. You’re also missing the opportunity to help motivate and be motivated by all the great stories of the forum members.

If you’re not signed up, just click on the button on the front page of the blog that says Fat 2 Fit Support. This will bring you to the Traineo page where the forum resides. You will have to be a member of Traineo to view and participate in the conversations. There are, as of this post, 269 posts in 32 topics by 97 members. You have a lot of catching up to do. See you there.

Negative Calorie Foods – Fact or Fiction

You might have heard this one: It takes more calories to digest celery than you get from eating it.

Most things that seem too good to be true usually are – except this one. This is True. So let me explain why.

Humans cannot digest cellulose in plants, so vegetables and fruits with a high cellulose content are not efficiently digested. Think of a cows or horses that eat grass. They can thrive by eating grass, but as humans we would starve to death.

All foods have calories in them. An 8 inch celery stalk has about 6 calories that we can digest. When you subtract the amount of energy that our body takes to digest the celery, the net caloric effect may turn out to be nothing at all. This is why celery has turned out to be a dieter’s staple food.

By eating a sensible diet that includes several of the “negative calorie” foods, you can lower the net amount of calories that you are eating. As well, if you are eating a calorie reduced diet and are finding that you are not satisfied with the amount of food that you are eating, you can eat more of these “negative calorie” foods to add more bulk to your food, and this should help you feel a little fuller from your meals.

Keep in mind, in the same way that you can’t survive on grass, you can’t survive on just these foods alone. You still need to be eating other quality foods for the nutrients, minerals, vitamins and calories that your body needs.

Here is a list of some of the more common “negative calorie” foods.

Vegetables – asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage (green), carrots, cauliflower, celery, chicory, chili peppers, cucumbers, endive, garlic, lettuce, onions, papayas, spinach, turnip, and zucchini.

Fruits – apples, cranberries, grapefruit, lemons, mangos, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, and tangerines.

I’m sure that I left some out. If you know some more, leave us a comment and let us know.