Why I Don't Use the Word Diet

I started bodybuilding in September 1984. At that time, I barely weighed 90 lbs. I learned to change my diet so I could put on muscle weight and be leaner. A bodybuilder’s diet is not a realistic diet though. It is too restrictive at contest time and allows for an overabundance of protein in the off season too. The extreme dieting for a competition is not healthy in the long run. Many former bodybuilders who don’t eat a clean diet all year round eventually become fat former bodybuilders. I see it all the time. For that reason, I often caution men and women who decide to compete in bodybuilding and fitness events about the dangers of extreme dieting required for the sport. I recommend that they compete to experience the wonderful sport fitness has become but warn them that there is a life after competition. The extreme dieting can cause a person to binge eat afterwards and develop new fat cells. Over time their ability to store fat increases. This is not a good thing.

Dieting is a word I don’t use and don’t believe in. However, the media still touts dieting as the only way to lose weight. (Informercials are notorious for this type of hype). A diet is made up of food groups that are good or bad for you. Most are fads that are extremely popular then fade away. The Atkins Diet though, has been around for a long time. Its appeal is quick weight loss. However, the weight is mostly from water and muscle. The excess protein and fat recommended by the Atkins diet can cause a heart attack and other dangerous health problems. Other fads are the detox diets. This is a form of liquid diet that uses raw food and advocates the cleansing of toxins from the body. It is so restrictive and can cause renal failure. It is dangerous. Nature detoxes us daily with a wonderful natural substance called fiber found naturally in fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grain products.

The eating style, not diet, that I can recommend is the South Beach Diet. Dr. Agatston, its founder, is a famous cardiologist in South Florida. He writes a health column for Prevention Magazine. He recounted in an interview that his diet book was an accident. He said that his heart patients wanted some kind of eating plan so he started giving them recipes and guidelines. He then started putting these in book form and it became a hit. Millions of copies are sold yearly. His guidelines and advice are sound. I recommend his recipes and philosophy about weight loss even though I don’t want anyone to diet. Please go to http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/about-dr-agatston.aspx for more information.

Weight watchers is another eating style that I recommend. http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/apr/index.aspx.They advocate making healthy choices, staying fuller longer,cutting back on calories and group support. I’ve watched their success over the years and find their philosophies are very close to the same ones I teach in The Mona Roberts Exercise Camp on Guam. My camps are taught in groups that meet and have 30 minute lectures on lifestyle changes and nutrition followed by a walk or walk/jog and an abdominal and lower back strengthening routine. We start weight training in the third week. Students are required to submit daily diaries of their eating and exercise habits. This allows for accountability and for me to monitor their progress and give advice in a timely manner. I also have my students over to my home for a low-fat cooking class where I show them how to modify the most common dishes. This interactive time is crucial to one’s success in the long run.

To start a weight loss or weight management program you should keep a daily journal of your eating and try to eat 4-5 smaller meals a day. Write down your thoughts and feelings in the journal as well. This will help you get rid of some of the stress that may come with lifestyle changes. Writing in a journal is a way of letting go, of expressing oneself without being judged. At the end of each week, read through the journal looking for red flags like fried food, skipped meals, too much alcohol or soda and/or not eating throughout the day. It may be overwhelming but it’s a start. You won’t be perfect at this but you will improve slowly. Just having more energy or being in a good mood are signs that you’re eating better. When you skip meals you become lethargic and grumpy. Hang in there, it can be done. Remember, you have the rest of your life to fine tune this routine right? Good luck. Feel free to email me if you should have any questions.

Which is Worse, Fat, Sodium or Sugar?

While attending a lecture at a Black church in Poughkeepsie New York, given by a renowned medical doctor from Stanford University, a participant raised his hand and asked “Which is worse, fat, sugar or sodium”? The Doctor quickly answered “sodium”. This was a surprise to everyone as this lecture was about diabetes and its prevention. This perked everyone’s interest and sparked debate. Sodium, not sugar?

Fat, sugar and sodium are all bad for you in excess or if the wrong or poor type is ingested. Transfat and saturated fat are bad for you. Refined sugar in any form is also bad for the body. But when you’re talking about diabetes, it seems that we all tend to dismiss just how much excess sodium in the diet can exacerbate or even cause diabetes.

Sodium is a necessary mineral. If you don’t get enough, your heart can stop beating. Too much and you become bloated and steal water from your cells. Your heart then has to pump harder because that sodium is traveling through your circulatory system. But how does this contribute to diabetes?

When teaching the Mona Roberts Fitness and Wellness exercise camps, I always start my lecture on sodium by saying “The saltier the food the hungrier it makes you”. Salty food stimulates the appetite. Pacific Islanders love finadene, a sauce made with soy sauce vinegar or lemon, onions and boonie peppers. Some Chamorros (natives of Guam) even add more salt to finadene. My mother taught me to do that. Finadene is put on everything, from eggs, rice, any meat, chicken pork and more. No household on Guam is without its staple, soy sauce. Chinese add oyster sauce to their dishes. Filipinos add Patis, a fish sauce to their dishes. These sauces make most Asian dishes high in sodium. Fast food too is extremely high in sodium. Mexican dishes, and Italian dishes are salty as well. You may not notice the saltiness when dining out because you’ve become accustomed to the taste.

The ingestion of high sodium food on a daily basis causes what I call SPF (sodium poofy face), the roundness of the face and neck resulting from a daily diet extremely high in sodium and low in water. Thirst is nature’s way of signaling the need to drink water to flush the excess sodium out of your system. However, whenever someone is out at a bar or restaurant and gets thirsty during a high sodium meal, most everyone orders a mixed drink, soda or juice. Rarely does anyone order water. Your thirst will never be satisfied by anything but plain water because only water can remove the excess sodium from the circulatory system. This is a cycle that causes one to drink more calorie laden drinks, and to eat more. Thus, the individual gains more water weight AND weight from the excess fat, carbohydrates and protein they’ve ingested.

So the relation between diabetes and high sodium is now easy to understand. A diet high in salt results in excess weight gain. The excess fat gain spews hormones in the abdomen that wreck havoc on the system. Every time you eat any kind of sugar good or bad your body has to release insulin to take the sugar to the cells to be used for energy. If the person is inactive then the food is stored as fat. The more fat you wear, the more stress you put on your heart and pancreas.

The best advice I can give everyone is to cut down on sodium. Read labels on packaged and canned goods. Numbers higher that 450 mg. per serving is high sodium. Stay away from fast food and chain restaurants. If you do choose to eat at a chain restaurant, ask for sauces on the side. Tell the waiter to ask the chef not to over salt or over season. Order water with your meal to help you stay hydrated.

Avoid pickles as they’re extremely high in sodium. Drink mainly water throughout the day. And go for daily walks. The sweat helps get rid of excess sodium through your pores. But remember to take bottled water and hydrate before, during and after exercise. When you’re thirsty, it’s too late. You should never be thirsty. You should never ever be thirsty. Once you’re thirsty, it’s too late… you are dehydrated. So drink up! Water that is.

Age Appropriate Exercises

‘Tis the season to be bombarded with TV and radio, informercials and newspaper ads about the latest exercise gadgets, diets or programs on the market. The hype is unbelievable! Millions of dollars are spent to convince us that a particular product or program is just what we need to finally get in shape. It can be a nightmare trying to figure out what to do, where to go and what to buy. But have no fear; I will help you walk thru this maze of confusion and figure out just what you should be doing to get in shape.

First, you need to figure out your fitness level. Are you a remedial, beginner, intermediate or advanced exerciser? Next, how overweight are you? Do you have any health issues or concerns? Lastly, what is your age bracket?

Think of the above as yellow flags. Inexperienced or beginner exercisers should hire a trainer or join a lower level aerobics class. Overweight individuals must start out slowly and exercise for shorter durations. Anyone with heath concerns should heed their physician’s advice, take their medication and be cautious while exercising. Lastly, select only exercises that are age appropriate.

As we age, fluid between our joints lessens. Bones are more brittle and balance isn’t what it used to be. Our coordination may be worse. Because of these issues, we must always wave what I call the “yellow flag of caution”. Select exercises that won’t compromise your age related limitations. Look for age appropriate exercises. Exercises that require jumping, impact and abrupt quick moves must be avoided. Former athletes too must limit or omit these exercises once they turn 50. We’re just not what we once were. This would include step aerobics using high risers, kick boxing, extreme boot camp type exercises, plyometrics, deep lunges or squats, high step ups and heavy weights. Even basketball can be harmful for the older exerciser. Every man I’ve known who has decided to play basketball over age 45 has injured himself. The stop and go and quickness of basketball is hard on the joints and knees.

Armed with this knowledge, now become an observer first. Hop on a treadmill in a gym and watch the aerobics and group classes. See if the participants are doing moves that you should not be doing. Ask staff or other gym members which instructors are more sensitive to the needs of beginner, remedial or older patrons. I don’t want you to sabotage your exercise regimen by injuring yourself. Remember, injuries usually don’t occur in the gym but outside the gym while doing everyday activities. However, it was the improper movements you performed in the gym that may have compromised your ability to perform normal everyday tasks.

Remember, older or inexperienced exercisers should be cautious about exercise. Take it slowly and gradually building up intensity and duration. Look for signs of improvement rather than just the numbers on a scale. Are you starting to have more energy or sleep better? Is your lower back pain going away? Do your clothes fit looser? If you see improvements in these areas, you are showing early signs of improvement from a cellular level. After all, we improve from the inside out.

So give it a try, don’t quit and take it one day at a time. Above all, take the first step and start exercising now. Good luck and keep me posted on your progress. I’d love to hear from you.

Transfat; You may be surprised at just what’s in your cupboard.

The federal government successfully required food labels to list the amount of transfat in a product. Legislators successfully curtailed the use of transfat in restaurant cooking. News organizations regulary feature articles about transfat. We hear about it, we think we know of it but do we really know what’s in our kitchen cabinets?

In the Mona Roberts Fitness and Wellness camps, I require all participants to take an inventory of their cupboards and refrigerators. Many are surprised to find that most of the products they consume have transfat in the ingredients. Most thought they were eating healthy as some of the brand names that have transfat in them appear to be healthier products. To help you understand the urgency of cleaning out your kitchens and cupboards of transfat, let me help educate you.

Hydrogenation is the process of heating an oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you a semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil that has a consistency like butter, only it's a lot cheaper. (treeklight.com) http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/PartiallyHydrogenatedOils.html You must read the labels of all products before you buy them. Look for the 3 words: partially hydrogenated oil. These words mean transfat. A label may say zero transfat but have transfat in it. This is because of a loophole in the law allowing companies to put 0 transfat on a label if the product contains .5 grams transfat per serving. However, 1 gram of transfat is too much for the human body. Transfat prevents your body from using good fat and interferes with many important cellular functions. Furthermore, transfat lowers the good cholesterol HDL, and increases the bad cholesterol LDL. Transfat causes you to gain weight period. It will kill you. The famous Harvard Nurse’s Study now over 30 years old, that successfully tracks the lifestyles of over 238,000 nurses has found that it is the type of fat that causes the most damage to the body. A diet high in transfat poses a far greater risk than a diet high in saturated fat or healthy monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat.

So just what can you do? First, read the ingredients listing NOT the label, when purchasing products. Look for the 3 words “partially hydrogenated oil”. Remember not hydrogenated oil, but partially hydrogenated oil. It must be the 3 words. If you find a product has those three words in it despite it being listed as having 0 transfat, put it back. My students and I have found partially hydrogenated oil in plain breadcrumbs, Tigers Milk Bars, peanut butter, coffee mate, Quaker Oats bars, most potato chips, Hot Pockets, most crackers and more. Be careful of products from the Orient. Their food labels don’t tell you what are in the ingredients. Educate your children about transfat. When eating out ask the waiter what kind of oil is used in their cooking. Avoid deep fried food. Your life and your heart are worth the time it takes to eliminate transfat from your kitchens and diets. Remember, it's 3 words, partially hydrogenated oil.

What are you crying about; it’s just a toilet paper commercial!

I was never the sensitive type. I was always happy and outgoing and never really let things get to me. On a rare occasion I’d find myself crying over sad news or the break-up of my high school boyfriend. An occasional chick flick or a special love story would bring tears to my eyes. It was nothing out of the ordinary. But what was up with all the instant drama when I turned 40. Why did things change?

Yup, my 40’s… I found myself crying, literally bawling at the silliest things; a TV commercial about toilet paper with a cute puppy in it, a news story about a lady giving birth on a plane, a young bride to be picking out the perfect dress. There I was getting goose bumps first, then tearing then actually bawling, sometimes uncontrollably. If I was alone I could hide it. But when someone else was with me, it was so embarrassing. I always carried tissues in my purse just in case I found myself in an awkward moment and had to carefully and skillfully dab tears away. I was always careful not to let my mascara or eyeliner run. That was the dead giveaway.

I tried to play it off… thinking that it reminded me of a special moment in my past. When asked why I was crying I’d shrug it off and say “oh nothing really”. The truth of the matter was that it really wasn’t anything. I found myself becoming overly sensitive about nothings and somethings. Take the internet for instance. I’d be checking my email and decide to read Yahoo news. There was a story about a dog born without legs that is now an inspiration to others. The picture of that puppy without legs was all it took. Tears rolled down my face. How sad. I’d walk away from the computer and keep sniffling. I’d think about that story and picture for awhile then be ok. So what was really going on?

It’s called menopause and the hormonal imbalance that accompanies it. It is uncontrollable and can wreak havoc on perfect moments. It can also make you overly sensitive when in a conversation with your spouse or significant other. Men often joke about being asked by their wives if they look fat in a particular dress. The answer to that question good or bad can definitely bring instant drama and bawling to a menopausal woman. We find ourselves being overly sensitive and interpreting comments as criticism. We literally drive the people around us crazy.

So what do we do ladies? Well, I learned to enjoy the private moment and just cry. Let it out. What the heck no one is around to see you. Whimper, bawl it’s ok. And when other people are around, you can try to hide it or just walk out of the room. Depending on the nature of your friends or family you will either be comforted or mocked at. Remember, it’s all ok. There is nothing wrong with you. It’s a time for us women to be the sensitive beings we are. You’re entering a new phase of your life called pause,,, men ,a pause, get it, get it!

Your Daily Intake of Rich food and take-outs May Rob you of a Healthy Sex life

“Erectile dysfunction, who me? Never”! I’ve heard those words echoed over and over again when I teach a nutrition and wellness class and have men present. Of course, the subject I’m discussing is a diet high in saturated fat, red meat and processed food.

As a society we raise our children to be mindful of rules, laws, and manners . Further, Mothers teach their daughters about periods, Fathers teach their sons about being “a Man”. We take for granted that sex education, sex and all that goes along with it will be learned in a health class. Parents never really want to discuss sex with their children. It’s a very very touchy subject. Children too are uncomfortable having their parents sit them down to talk about sex or birth control or abstinence and more. As we age, our mothers and adult female relatives go one step further and shortchange their daughters and young female relatives by not sharing advice on menopause and its consequences. Fathers and uncles also fail to share their experience with erectile dysfunction with their sons and nephews. Yes, the inability to maintain or get an erection. This occurs in about 60% of males age 60 and above. Yet, men never share this story with their sons. Unfortunately, erectile dysfunction affects both the husband and wife and must be taken seriously.

In order for a man to have an erection he must have good blood flow to the penis. Many factors from depression, prescription medications, smoking and more can cause erectile dysfunction. However, the more common cause is something you may overlook. The diet men thrive on and celebrate daily is the very thing that will destroy their very manhood. Hamburgers, t-bone steaks, beer, pizza, chips, French fries, pork chops, Spam,corned beef, Vienna sausage, Brautsworth sausage and any high fat food is a more common cause of ED than prescription medications or depression. In fact, it is most certain that all men who indulge in a diet high in saturated fat will have problems having and maintaining an erection even as early as their late 30’s and early 40’s. I’m not talking sterility, for a man can still have an orgasm but, he won’t be able to have much of an erection.In 1997, on my K-57 talk radio show on Guam, urologist Dr. Jerry Richter, asked me if he could be a guest on my show to discuss an epidemic on Guam. He wouldn’t tell me what it was and said he would discuss it when he met with me. With my interest peaked, I anxiously awaited his arrival and in the break room he told me he wanted to talk about a link between a diet in luncheon meat( know by a more common name on Guam )and the inability for a man to get or maintain an erection or ED. He said that he was a urologist for the Veteran’s Center on Guam and that all the men he was seeing suffered from ED. He mentioned that of all the places he worked in the world, the numbers he saw were epidemic. Of course, he didn’t have any studies to prove this, just his observation and a hunch. However, it’s enough to cause one to sit up and listen.

Chamorro men are quite macho and would never admit an ED problem to anyone. Being a urologist Dr. Richter had to know. The interesting thing about that morning on my radio show is that my phones didn’t ring once. No one called to dispute it or to agree with it. Someone always calls one way or another, so I knew I had struck a sensitive chord.Men, change your diet now. You will suffer from ED and heart disease and may even have a stroke or heart attack if you keep eating the rich fatty diet. Furthermore, you will most likely develop diabetes. Diabetes is the disease that destroys small blood vessels. Diabetic males will develop ED. Eventually the nerve endings to the penis and blood flow are diminished. Female students and some male relatives in their 60’s and older have confided in me that they or their significant other suffers from ED. Once a man has ED, depression may set in and many times it becomes joked about but never really admitted as caused by diet and lifestyle. If ED is referred to, it’s mentioned as being a a part of aging.

Can ED be reversed? You’ll have to see a urologist. If you’re one of the young men whom I’ve given this lecture to and answered back that you’ll just take Viagra, heed warning. Viagra and similar ED medications can only be taken by healthy men. If you have heart disease or are taking blood thinners you cannot take Viagra. Further, I know of diabetic males who have told me that Viagra a does not work for them.

So the next time you barbeque… and want to “chasa” remember what I wrote about ED…