What Can I Drink?

This is a question I get quite often from my own clients. If you are trying to lose weight, what you drink is as important as what you eat. Here are some guidelines:

Avoid

1) Any beverage with added sugar: This includes sodas and sports drinks. As you have probably heard, added sugar is a big part of weight gain for most of us and eliminating it is a big part of weight loss. Drinking calories is just a bad idea if you are trying to lose weight.

2) Fruit and vegetable juices: When you juice a fruit or vegetable, you are concentrating the sugars and eliminating the fiber. You end up with a drink that can spike your blood sugar and cause a reactive hypoglycemia that can increase hunger and subsequent energy intake. Similar to #1 above, these beverages also contain calories.

3) Drinks with artificial sweeteners: This includes diet soda and diet iced tea. Although these beverages are fine for an occasional treat, having them every day can perpetuate cravings for sugar and other refined carbohydrates. I advise my clients to have these kinds of drinks just a couple of times a week when they are allowed to cheat on their diet.

Allowed

1) Filtered tap or bottled water. A squeeze of a fresh lemon, lime or even an orange brings this to a whole new level.

2) Club soda. There are some really good unsweetened flavored club sodas on the market right now. In my opinion, Polar is the best.

3) Decaffeinated coffee or tea, either hot or iced.

Can the allowed beverages be considered boring? Maybe. You know what is not boring, hitting your goal weight.

The Critical Importance Of Weight Training

The Study

In this investigation, 160 obese men and women aged 65 or older were put on a low-calorie weight loss diet for 6 months. All of the subjects had mild to moderate frailty, which was defined by a test called The Physical Performance Test. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 4 groups; aerobic exercise, resistance training, a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise and a control group. The aerobic and resistance exercise sessions lasted 40 minutes and were completed 3 times per week. 

By the end of follow-up, body weight had decreased by 9% in all exercise groups. Other results were very interesting:

-The combination group significantly increased Physical Performance Test scores compared to the other groups.

-Peak oxygen consumption increased more in the combination and aerobic group than in the resistance group.

-Strength increased more in the combination and the resistance groups than in the aerobic group.

-Lean body mass decreased less in the combination and resistance group than in the aerobic group.

-Bone mineral density decreased less in the resistance and combination group than in the aerobic group. The New England Journal of Medicine 2017; 376:1943

Take Home Message

It is abundantly clear that the combination group showed the most improvement in functionality. The benefits of adding resistance training to your weight loss and cardio programs are undeniable. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that weight training reduces the decrease in lean body mass that occurs with weight loss. This makes it much easier to maintain your weight loss long-term.

Resistance training also has tremendous functional health benefits. While this is true for all of us, it is especially true for older adults, since most of the loss of functionality due to aging is related to the loss of muscle mass. It is really important for all adults to hit the weights at least twice per week. This is especially true for older adults.

Sleep Extension And Your Diet

The Study

Forty-two short sleepers (5 to <7 hours per night) were randomized to either a sleep extension or control group. The sleep extension group received a behavioral consultation designed to increase sleep duration. The trial lasted for 4 weeks and dietary intake was measured with a 7-day food diary.  

Post intervention, the sleep extension group significantly increased their sleeping period by 47 minutes per night. By the end of follow-up, the sleep extension group significantly reduced their intake of added sugars when compared to the control group (-9.6 grams/day vs. +.7 grams/day).  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2018; 107:43.

Take Home Message

There have been a ton of studies published in the last 10 years on sleep deprivation and weight gain. There is evidence that leptin levels drop and ghrelin levels rise with short sleep. The hormone leptin influences metabolism and the hormone ghrelin influences hunger. Therefore, if you are not sleeping enough, your metabolism will slow down and your hunger will increase. This is not a good combination for those trying to manage their weight. This study shows that getting enough sleep may help you improve the quality of your diet as well. Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

Product Review: Life Fitness X1 Elliptical Trainer

No matter what your fitness goal, it is critical to set up an environment where exercise is easy for you to accomplish. Nothing is easier than having exercise equipment in your home. Today’s review is for a piece of equipment that is near and dear to my heart. 

I have worked at a lot of gyms over the years. I have also belonged to a lot of gyms. The Life Fitness X1 Elliptical Trainer is the home version of my absolute favorite cardio machine of all time. I picked one up as soon as we moved into our new house a few years ago and let me tell you, it is awesome.

Pros
1) Extremely well made and durable: I have had mine for two years. My wife and I use it every single day and it looks like we just took it out of the box.

2) Variable intensity: There are 20 levels of resistance as well as computer guided workouts included with the X1.

3) Quiet: This machine is very quiet. I can work out while my wife is sleeping and she won’t know it.

4) Feels exactly like the more expensive commercial gym model. This is a great workout.

5) Extremely low impact: Elliptical training is my preferred mode of cardio for just about everyone. You burn a lot of calories with virtually no impact on your joints. It feels like you are running on air when on this machine.

6) Having any piece of cardio in your home allows you to avoid bad weather, which can make it very hard to get your cardio in consistently if you exercise outdoors.

Cons
1) On the expensive side. I found the best deal at Costco. At the time of this writing, it goes for $1899.99. This price includes both shipping and assembly. This is a pretty big initial investment, but if you divide it by the number of years you will have it, the X1 comes out to far less than you would pay in yearly dues to a nice gym.

2) It takes up a lot of space. Having said this, I would recommend putting it someplace that you will use it, such as your bedroom or your living room. Exercise machines put in a damp basement have a tendency to disappear from your life. It is also helpful to put it in front of a TV so you can combine your cardio with your TV time.

Do I Recommend The Life Fitness X1?
Absolutely. If you have the space and are able to make the financial commitment, there is no better option for cardio than this, in my opinion. You can check out this machine at Costco here.

If you don’t have the space for a big machine, or don’t want to spend the money, here is a review of the Gazelle Edge, a portable, much less expensive way to have an elliptical in your home.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with the company that makes the Life Fitness X1 Elliptical Trainer and make no money if you buy it.