Produce No Case: Shape-Ups & Easy Tone

Marci Anderson - Monday, July 19, 2010
Each month I have a little fun showcasing an item that, in my opinion, just isn't as good for your health as it is advertised to be.  In the past I have showcased food items.  But last week, a client prompted me with a brilliant idea.  

She had been to City Sports in Cambridge and decided to try on a pair of Skecher's Shape-Ups (Reebok Easy-Tone is another version of the same idea).  You know the shoes.  Slim, long legged models wear them in their commercials, promising that they'll help you "burn more calories, tone muscles, and more."

So my client was curious to know whether or not there was any actual research behind the dramatic sales pitch.  So I did some research of my own.  First I looked for any data to support the claims of calorie burning and leg toning.  Nope, couldn't find anything.  Doesn't appear that either company has done any actual research that would validate such claims.  Skechers or Reebok, if you know something I don't, please send the research my way!  I'm all ears.

Then I decided to contact my colleagues. Here were their responses:

  • There was another brand that came out a few years ago with these. I bought them (because Oprah had them...lame, I know!) and they really hurt my knees so I gave them away. A chiropractor told me they were not great for your back.

  • My husband is a physical therapist and he says to stay away from them!

  • My best friend is a PT and says the same: bologna.


So it seems that at best, wearing these shoes won't lead to any body-transforming miracles.  And at worst, they may take a toll on your back, hips, and knees.  No thank you!

My advice?  Be grateful for the body you do have and take good care of it with moderate yet consistent exercise.  Your joints will thank you!
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Workout Fun?

Marci Anderson - Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Did you know that research shows that the right tunes can actually help you enjoy your workouts more?  I recently read this article and thought the concept was great.  If you are prone to hanging out on the couch, the right music may just help you get your bootie movin'.  Check out the playlist selections posted in the article, it may be just the motivation you need to get up, get out, and start having a little fun. :)

  Here are the top 5 songs that get me excited to exercise:
1. Right Round- Chani
2. Lovegame- Lady Gaga
3. Glamorous (Craig Dice remix)- Fergie
4.  Maneater- Nelly Furtado
5.  Bounce That- Girl Talk

What tunes get you moving?

Your beat loving dietitian in Cambridge,
Marci 
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Fitness Fact: Muscles = Metabolism, Really?

Marci Anderson - Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Each month I try to write a little blurb on something exercise-related and I stumbled across an interesting tid- bit while preparing for a recent seminar.

Once we hit our 30's, our Resting Energy Expenditure* begins to decline by .8% for women and 1% for men each decade.  Translation: in our 30's our metabolism begins to slow down.

*REE = 55-75% of the calories or energy our body expends in a day.  These are involuntary, life sustaining activities like breathing, circulation, hormone secretion, and nerve/brain activity.

How does this decline happen? Through the loss 1.5-2 pounds of lean body mass per year.  Yikes!

But here's the good news.  We can off-set this age-related muscle loss by strength training.  Whoohoo!!!  A simple 20-30 min a couple of times a week is all it takes.

So join a strength training class, buy an exercise video and some dumbbells, or start by climbing stairs.  Every little bit counts!
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Protein Drink Dangers

Marci Anderson - Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Watch CBS News Videos Online
I thought this news clip was really interesting.  Another testament to the value of eating whole, non-processed, real food!
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Yoga in the Treatment of Eating Disorders

Marci Anderson - Thursday, April 15, 2010

A recent randomized clinical control trial of using yoga in the treatment of eating disorders appeared in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.  The study compared traditional treatment at an outpatient eating disorder center as compared to individual yoga plus standard care.  After 8 weeks, those in the experimental group showed lower Eating Disorder Examination scores and reduced food preoccupation following the yoga sessions.  Results show yoga as a promising adjunct therapy to eating disorder treatment.

A few reasons I think yoga is great:
*Teaches you to remain in the "present moment"- a skill that is greatly needed in our busy world and an essential component for anyone looking to change their food habits or relationship with food.  Learning how to be more present in your body allows you to listen to your body's hunger and fullness cueing.
*Helps you maintain posture and flexibility with age.
*Improves balance which helps to prevent falls.
*A great way to destress

Interested in using meditation to de-stress but don't have the means or desire to go to a yoga class?  Try this 10-minute self-guided mediation at your desk!

Your neighborhood nutritionist in Cambridge,
Marci

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Fitness Fact: Good Computer Posture

Marci Anderson - Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Have you ever thought about the number of hours in a day you spend sitting in front of a computer?  Have you ever paid attention to how you are sitting in front of your computer?  The typical American is expected to live for 78 years.  Now imagine how you'll be looking at 78 if you continue to sit hunched over at your computer every day.

This is a relatively helpful article on computer posture.  But here are a couple of points to consider:


  • Habit: How you sit is a habit and will likely take many reminders to change or correct it.  Consider setting a posture timer on your computer so you can check your self periodically.
  • Strength: Good posture requires strength in the core (both low back and abdominals).  The Mayo Clinic has a slide show of core strengthening exercises.
  • Stretching: Actively stretching and releasing tension is great way to correct posture.  I found this awesome YouTube video (below) which guides you through a series of relaxing desk stretches, along with some pretty great tunes to help you relax.

I hope you find these tips helpful!
Your Registered Dietitian & Personal Trainer in Harvard Square,
Marci
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Fitness Fact: Let's Move

Marci Anderson - Thursday, February 18, 2010

For this month's fitness fact blog post, I decided to highlight the new Let's Move website I mentioned on Monday's blog post.

Did you know that children need at least an hour a day of vigorous play and activity to stay healthy?  This may seem like a lot but consider the number of hours children spend sitting at school, watching TV, or playing on the internet.  Our society is built around stationary activities and getting enough healthy movement takes planning and effort.  The American of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has an excellent article which delineates the harmful effects of excessive media consumption on our nation's kids.  

The Let's Move website provides a list of resources to help parents and other caretakers make sure kids get the 60 minutes of play they need as well as ideas of how to keep your kids active in your community.

One of my favorite pages on the website gives a whole list of ways that you can help make family time, play time.  As a person who does not yet have children of my own, I'm curious to know if any of these tips seem helpful or feasible.  I'm eager to hear about your own success stories that involve increasing play time together as a family.

Your dietitian in Harvard Square,
Marci
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Exercise & Depression

Marci Anderson - Wednesday, January 27, 2010
If you tend to feel a bit blue during the winter months, you are not alone. Rates of depression increase during the winter, including people who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In fact, recent findings suggest that the severity of eating disorder symptoms for bulimia peak in the Fall & Winter months.

While clinically significant depressive disorders need to be treated by a competent medical professional, a little exercise can go a long way to boosting mood, reducing anxiety, and improving sleep patterns.  While you may not be as committed as these gentleman are to exercise, I thought you'd appreciate the laugh. :) How's that for a little mood booster?

Here are a few facts you might not know:

1.) As you exercise your body's feel good chemicals called endorphins are produced.  This helps to increase your energy levels which over time increases your stamina.  

2.) Exercise is a positive distraction that illicits a relaxation response in your body to help lower feelings of stress and anxiety.

3.) As you exercise, more serotonin is available to your brain.  As a result you feel happier, more relaxed, and more confident in your ability to manage your life's stressors. This may also help reduce carbohydrate cravings, a symptom of SAD.

It's tempting to want to hibernate for the winter. But a small does of exercise (30 minutes) is all you need to reap the disease-fighting and mood enhancing benefits.  And you don't necessarily need a gym either! 

Here is my Top 10 list of simple strategies to moving more.  

1. Keep it simple. The only cost is a good pair of walking shoes. Walking the neighborhood or even walking the mall is something that is affordable and easy.

2. Many schools open their gyms up to the community for walking programs so check a local school.

3. Turn up the music and dance. A friend lost 19# by doing this for 60 minutes a day with her kids.

4. Take family night to another level with a game like Wii Fit.

5. Use a pedometer and make your own records for as many steps in a single day.

6. Get outside in any season: In the summer, go for walks, hike a new trail, go for a bike ride, kayak, canoe, swim. In the fall, do your own color tour - bring your camera and walk through the beautiful colors. In the winter, ski - downhill can be expensive but if you already have the equipment night skiing is cheaper, cross-country skiing is a great work out, go ice skating, slide down a hill in a toboggan - climbing up the hill is great exercise, go snow shoeing, have a snowball fight, build a snowman. In the spring, take a walk to see all the flowers and trees budding and waking up from their winter slumber.

7. Take work breaks: 30 min at lunch, 15 min in the morning and afternoon. Other people get a smoke break, right?

8. Commercial Break Competitions: Do some routines with hand held weights (or improvised wts from filled water bottles). March, climb stairs, do jumping jacks, push ups, etc.

9. Play like your kids and with your kids. Get down on the ground with them, do somersaults, climb, run, skip, jump, play tag, toss and chase a ball. Have Fun!

10. Join a club or team.

Identify your barriers to moving more and create a game plan. Start simple and specific and let me know how it goes. And always check with your Dr. before starting an exercise program.

Your neighborhood nutritionist in Cambridge,
Marci 

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Healthy Weight Week

Marci Anderson - Tuesday, January 19, 2010
You might not know it, but this week has been officially named "Healthy Weight Week."  As a dietitian in Cambridge who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and works predominantly with women who struggle with their weight and body image issues, I'm pretty sensitive to the topic of weight.

It's been my experience that pre-occupation with weight and body size is extremely unhealthy and incredibly unproductive.  I've worked with clinically obese/morbidly obese clients who agonize over their excess pounds and fear the implications it has for their health. 

On the flip side, I've worked with plenty of women who appear to have very normal/healthy body weights but also obsess over their desire to be thinner.  This results in hours spent at the gym accompanied with guilt about they did/did not eat the day before.  

Or more commonly for many of my nutrition clients, their weight and body obsession leads to eating which becomes disordered to the point of starvation, binging, purging, laxative abuse, etc.

It saddens me to see the number of women who waste their precious time thinking, agonizing, and lamenting over their bodies and what they put into them. So naturally, I have mixed feelings about an entire week focused on that very topic.

However, when I found the website for the Healthy Weight Network I was thrilled to find out what they intend "Healthy Weight Week" to be about:

The 17th annual H ealthy Weight Week is a time to celebrate healthy living habits that last a lifetime and prevent eating and weight problems, rather than intensifying them, as diets do.

Traditionally many Americans begin a diet the first week in January and "blow" it the second week. Healthy Weight Week, the third week, is a time to stop dieting for good and help people normalize their lives. It’s a welcome antedote to the dieting and bingeing that typically begin the New Year!
Healthy Weight Week promotes healthy nondiet lifestyles for children and adults of every size. It helps them move ahead to healthy habits they can live with long term – sound, reasonable habits that allow them to live well and get on with their lives. Eat well, live actively, and feel good about yourself and others.

It's my philosophy that your "healthy weight" is:
  • Partially determined by your genetics
  • A range of a few pounds that may vary depending on the time of month
  • Where your body goes naturally when you are eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied, and usually a result of physical rather than emotional or social hunger
  • Is supported by a moderate exercise program

It's also my philosophy that your "heathy weight" is NOT:
  • Determined by a scale, jeans size, or weight chart
  • Attained by calorie counting, low cal diets, and excessive exercise
  • Necessarily what you weighed when you graduated high school :)

So let's celebrate what it really means to find a healthy weight- treating your body with respect, feeding yourself appropriately, enjoying the movement of exercise, and trusting that your body will find it's natural healthy place.

If you are interested in learning more about this approach, here are a few books I HIGHLY recommend:

And a couple of websites to check out too:

Here's to a new look at what it means to find your "healthy weight."
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Fitness Fact: Why Exercise Won't Help You Lose Weight

Marci Anderson - Tuesday, December 15, 2009


I know, I know. You are probably thinking that I made an error typing out the title of this blog post. Nope. Despite the fact that I am a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, and group exercise instructor in Cambridge, MA I firmly believe that using exercise as a means to lose weight can actually be harmful. Yes, you heard me right. And I wanted to yell Hallelujah when I came across this Time article "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin." Please take the time to read it! Then forward it along to all of your family members and friends.

Here are the basic take home points I’d like you to think about:
1. Intense bouts of calorie-burning exercise (think 60 minutes on a piece of cardio equipment or your favorite cycling class) stimulate your appetite. Consequently, most people unknowingly eat more calories than they just burned after intense exercise. If you don’t believe me, check out the research cited in the Times article under the heading “The Compensation Problem.”

I have a saying which goes “You can’t outrun your fork.” And it’s true. We can eat in 10 minutes what would take us 10 hours to burn off. I’m sorry for that- it’s simply the way we humans have evolved.

2. Replacing fat tissue with lean muscle mass does not do much to increase our metabolic rates- no matter how much your personal trainer would like you to believe otherwise. In fact, replacing 10 lbs of fat with 10 lbs of muscle leads to a paltry increase of 40 calories burned. 40 calories? That’s the equivalent of 2 Hershey’s Kisses- just 2!

3.) A butt-blasting, cardio kicking workout often creates the halo effect. How many times have you finished an intense workout, only to indulge afterwards. Hey, you burned a lot of calories after that 60 minute hill climb on the treadmill. Next thing you know, you’ve gone totally overboard at dinner…but with good intentions to “make up for it” tomorrow. It’s an endless and tireless feedback loop.

I have seen this feedback loop in full force in the work I do in eating disorders as well as working with healthy populations. Using exercise to burn calories fuels disordered eating patterns (i.e. a few extra cookies because you’ve been “good.”)

4.) Excessive exercise can lead to overly sore muscles and a feeling of heaviness that can actually lead to more hours of sedentary down time when you aren’t working out.

Please know that I am not suggesting that you stop exercising all together. Exercise provides a host of benefits:
**Enhances heart health and helps to prevent chronic disease
**Improves mental capacity and cognitive ability
**Helps regulate mood by decreasing anxiety and improving feelings of depression
**Enhances stamina
**Supports a healthy immune system
**Helps maintain muscle mass and flexibility, which is crucial for maintaining function as we age
**Improves balance and helps to prevent falls in the elderly

This is not an exhaustive list. Clearly I’m in full support of a healthy exercise program. But the research shows that the benefits of exercise can be obtained at moderate intensities for moderate amounts of time. So now that you don’t have to spend hours burning up calories at your local gym, I wonder how you could use your time more positively. Hmmm, now that’s something to think about.

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