Peak Performance Fitness

Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

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Maintaining Your Current Weight

Most of the time when people looking to lose weight, they are thinking about fat loss and gaining muscle mass. Let’s talk about what happens when you reach your goal weight or are happy with your current weight. The time and energy put into reaching your goal are very important; in order to maintain your goal weight, an equal amount of work still needs to be put forth.

You have worked so hard to get to this goal weight and sometimes it’s a little difficult to change the diet you were keeping and not go back up in weight. Also, look at the exercise side of things-  if you were working out 7 days a week to hit your goal, that may not realistic for your everyday life. It might take time in order to find what works best for you, but the great thing about being at a point where you are healthy and happy with yourself, is you don’t have to work quite as hard to maintain. These changes have become a part of your lifestyle and sticking with a balanced diet and regular exercise will allow you to remain healthy. By continuing to be mindful, you are less likely to lose track and eat poorly – you would not want to fall in reverse with your health and fitness.

Keep in mind that keeping a healthy, balanced diet is half of the weight loss battle. As for exercise, 3 days a week minimum should be enough to maintain your weight as long as you get a quality workout in. if you have an occasional week where you only work out once, you will not gain weight as long as you are living a healthy lifestyle. This means walking a little more during everyday activities, eating smart, and continuing to make healthy decisions everyday.

Throughout your journey to your goal weight, the healthy lifestyle habits are the habits you want to always maintain.  Adapting this lifestyle for the long term will allow you to lead an overall healthier life- not solely for weight reasons, but for health concerns, too.

 

By Corynne Duprey

 

Can You Out-work a Bad Diet?

The golden rule of weight loss is, “If you burn more calories than you take in, your weight will decrease”. It has been engrained in human lifestyles dating to thousands of years ago. Our ancestors led active hunting and gathering lifestyles in order to survive. They would gain weight when food was abundant; and during dry seasons or harsh winters, their caloric intake would severely decrease, to no choice of their own.  Now, progress this conversation to present day. You can hear the “gym bro” logic resonating off the walls of the locker rooms, “Look at the cavemen! They ate a TON! If you just workout a lot, you can eat whatever you want! It works for me!” Not quite the case, Chad.

Let’s break it down… According to Chad, he eats whatever he wants and just works out to keep his body in tip top condition. How’s the math add up? To start: Let’s say Chad is a 21 year old male, weighing about 180 lbs and standing about 6 feet tall. His parents are of average height and weight for their age group. Chad’s young metabolism keeps him burning approximately 2200 calories a day, or 15,400 calories a week. He hits the gym with his bros for an hour a day, four to 5 days a week for some moderate intensity weight training, in hopes that developing his body will help him to finally score a date with the cutie in his algebra class. This is a healthy move for Chad, giving him an additional 260 calories burned each day, or an additional 1300 per week. Back to the golden rule: If Chad wants to keep his impressive physique, he will have to consume right around 16,700 calories per week! Seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

Not until we take a look at Chad’s diet. Since moving out of his parent’s house, he’s had to do a lot of cooking for himself. The term “cooking” is unheard of in Chad’s vocabulary so he eats whatever is available, often going to the same takeout places and pubs for his meals. During the week, he does okay. He makes somewhat healthy decisions, consuming about 2,400 calories per day, or about 12,000 for the work week. Not that much over what he is burning during that given time. Enter: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Chad meets up with his bros for some casual beers after a big week at work, bringing his total to 12,900. He grabs a late night pizza afterwards, Bumping his consumed calories to 14,900. After a big breakfast consisting of 800 calories Saturday morning, he hears that the cutie from algebra is going to his local pub. After repeating something similar to Friday’s debacle, he is now at 17,800 calories for the week, or well over what he would need to maintain his current weight. After several months of this, he goes back to visit his parents, who can’t help but notice that Chad has put on some weight. He couldn’t out work his poor choices after all.

Put simply, a slip up every once in a while is okay for someone’s fitness journey. Its what makes us human and keeps us sane during an often difficult time. But regular overeating is difficult to overcome, based on the sheer time involved in negating it. A 300 calorie donut equals out to a 2.5 mile run. So, what’s easier to do? Not eat that break room donut every day, or stomp on the sneakers and head out for an additional 20-30 minute run every day? There is no right answer to the question, but it should resonate that exercising self-control in the kitchen will require less exercising in the gym.

 

By Matt Rhodes, M.S.

Weight Loss Benefits

Many people across the world struggle with controlling their weight. In America, more than 1/3 of America’s adult population is obese. People who are severely overweight have an unfortunately high risk of developing other health complications; heart disease, diabetes, and joint injuries, along with several others. Losing weight can have several benefits to improving one’s health- and a little bit can go a long way. Studies have shown that losing just 5-10% of your body weight can lead to a noticeable improvement in ones’ health. Positive changes in your diet and an increase in exercise can get you started on your weight loss journey. Here are a few of the many benefits you may see when losing weight:

Losing weight can…

  • Lower your blood pressure and improve “good” cholesterol levels (HDL), both contributing to a decrease risk of heart disease.
  • Improve blood glucose levels and decrease your risk of getting diabetes
    • If you already have diabetes, losing weight can decrease your reliance on medications
  • Decrease your risk of developing certain cancers
  • Decrease your risk of having a stroke
  • Decrease your risk of inflammation caused by chemicals released from fat cells
  • Decrease stress on joints, leading to a reduction in joint deterioration
    • If you already have damage within the joint (osteoarthritis), losing weight can improve your symptoms and slow the progress of joint deterioration
  • Improve mobility
  • Improve quality of sleep
  • Improve mood and quality of life

 

By David McCalla

 

Eating to Lose Weight

On most people’s journeys to losing weight, we often head straight to the gym with good intentions. Sometimes, after continuously going to the gym however, we do not see the results we were hoping for. Why is that? Well, a common mistake of beginners is to neglect diet. Today we are going to discuss some techniques to make sure we are eating and losing weight.

First things first, it is important to know and understand your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your RMR is a measure of many calories you burn per day if you were to do absolutely nothing. Obviously, there are no days where you do nothing at all but this measure is a great tool for determining how many calories can be consumed a day. Using RMR, we are given a range will ensure that we are burning more calories than we consume. If you wanted to know your RMR or more information about it, talk to any of the physiologists!

Now that we know how many calories we can consume a day, what exactly are we supposed to be eating? When choosing what to eat it is important to keep a few things in mind. The quality of the food, the type of food and the amount of food.

  • Quality – Quality is probably the hardest aspect of changing diet. When trying to increase the quality of foods, choosing fresh foods is always a great idea and cooking your own meals can go a long way. If that isn’t possible, make a habit of reading nutrition labels. Try to avoid foods with a lot of processing and ingredients that you have never heard of before. What even is Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)?
  • Type – I’m sure you’ve heard of low-carb diets and while those diets are okay. It is best to keep a good balance of carbs, proteins and fats (yes, fats). Everything in moderation will go a long way when trying to lose weight.
  • Amount – This point seems pretty self-explanatory but it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to ONLY consume the amount you need and not the amount you want. Utilize your RMR and ensure we are burning more than consuming.

Weight training and a solid diet are two key ways to keep your weight loss on track. Try not to neglect one or the other. Keeping a journal and writing everything you eat will help keep you on track. Also, the RMR is a great tool to get you started or progress further in your journey, so be sure to talk to any of the physiologists about anything regarding diet or RMR.

 

By Julian C. Lee

The “Best” Workout for Weight Loss

Many people are constantly searching for the most effective workouts to lose weight as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, this “magic” workout does not exist—different methods work for different people.  However, there are certain parameters that one must focus on in order to achieve a successful weight-loss program. Although it is not considered part of the “workout” section of a weight-loss program, if your diet is not in check you will most likely not lose weight.  Ask your physiologist for any recommendations they have to help kick start your journey to a lighter, healthier body.

Your first and most important priority with any weight-loss workout is cardio—increasing the number of times your heart beats per minute (through physical activity) for a prolonged period of time is essential to increasing your caloric deficit.  Caloric deficit refers to a higher amount of calories being burned from the body versus the amount of calories being taken in through eating and drinking.  That deficit is what causes our body to recruit calories from fat stores within us as metabolic fuel for normal bodily functioning and activity.  Therefore, doing cardio or moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week will benefit you by helping create a larger caloric deficit.  According to numerous studies, including a 12-month study by Chambliss et al, exercise duration (at least 150 minutes per week) was more important than vigorous versus moderate intensity exercise to achieve weight-loss goals (1).

On average, a moderate intensity cardio workout of 30 minutes at a heart rate zone between 50-80% of a person’s heart rate reserve (HRR) can burn anywhere between 200-300 calories depending on intensity.  Other factors that determine the rate of calories burned include age and mass.  However, not only should a person attempting to lose weight perform moderate cardio or physical activity on most days of the week, they should also train one or more times at a higher intensity in order to improve their metabolic functioning. Some research experiments, including one by Yoshioka et al. explain that high intensity versus moderate intensity exercise yields significant benefits on post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) as well as on fat oxidation (3).  What this means is that high intensity training causes a person’s body to burn calories at a faster rate after exercise as well as specifically burn fat more effectively.  Both of which have positive benefits in relation to weight-loss.

Another overlooked but important component of any “great” weight-loss workout includes resistance/strength training.  Building strength in the muscles that we use to perform our cardio exercises benefits us by improving our tolerance for work intensity and improving muscle endurance to last longer with our workouts. According to one study, 45 minutes of strength training created a greater EPOC and fat oxidation during the 2 hours after the exercise session (2).  This means that for two hours post-strength training, one can increase his or her metabolism and rate at which fat is burned.

In conclusion, there is no “perfect” workout for weight-loss.  Involving moderate and vigorous cardiovascular training sessions, day-to-day physical activity, and strength training combined with a proper diet are the keys to making your weight-loss program an effective one.

 

By Anthony Locast

 

Sources

  1. Chambliss, Heather O. “Exercise duration and intensity in a weight-loss program.” Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine15.2 (2005): 113-115.
  2. Da Mota, Gustavo Ribeiro, et al. “Strength training and weight loss.” Journal of the Health Sciences Institute28.4 (2010): 337-340.
  3. Yoshioka, M., et al. “Impact of high-intensity exercise on energy expenditure, lipid oxidation and body fatness.” International Journal of obesity25.3 (2001): 332.