Going WITHOUT Nutrition? The Revealed Benefits of Intermittent Fasting!
by Lani Muelrath, M.A. aka The Fitness DreamMaker
If you think IMF means "impossible missions force", then think again! If you think it means "international monetary fund", well, you might be right but actually not on this occasion!
It is the NEW acronym I've invented for what I call intermittent mini fasts.
I NEVER thought I'd say this, but….I have become a big fan of the intermittent mini!
WHAAT you say? Settle down! And I'll tell you all about it.
How it came up, what I learned, and what I did about it.
Taking Another Look
First, some personal history. Years ago, I dabbled in fasting as a weight loss tool. Horribly unguided, white-knuckle fasting that would pretty much go on as long as I could tolerate it. Then I'd try to "break the fast slowly" as all the experts advised, but I would run fast lane into binges and overeating. Stuff-starve at its worst!
Interestingly enough, over the past couple of years, as I am an avid reader and researcher of what's going on in the health and fitness fields, the idea of fasting seemed to be resurfacing as a health and longevity tool.
Because of my prior experience, and all the work that I had done to heal my relationship with food, eating, and my body, I dismissed and ignored all of these references. Did NOT want to go THERE! And as a foodie, someone who enjoys everything they eat (and won't eat anything I don't like, so there!) I was especially, shall we say, trepidacious!
However, references persisted, and I thought, OK Lani, let's take an objective look at see what this is all about. After all I am a new person, different from those years way back when. I've learned from experience, but I've also become able to look at things more objectively than ever before.
What Caught My Eye
As I began to let the material about fasting filter into my domain, I saw references that made me sit up and take attention. Particularly these phrases:
~ reduce inflammation
~ increase insulin sensitivity
~ decrease stress hormones
~ increase human growth hormone production
And of course:
~ reduce body fat stores without sacrificing muscle.
What? I'd been thinking since forever that fasting eats into our muscle mass. That it decreases your metabolism, and does all kinds of other things to wonk up our efforts to be trim!
NEW Research Proves "Fitness Fasting Mythology" Wrong!
There is lots of documentation out there that refutes these common beliefs about fasting.
But let me show you an easy place to find out a little bit for yourself.
The simplest, most direct presentation of this information is by my friend Brad Pilon, who has written a book about intermittent fasting called Eat Stop Eat. Brad is a nutrition researcher who did exhaustive, objective research on fairly recent studies done with intermittent fasting on a variety of subjects. It is all very well documented in his book, and it is an impressive collection, I must say!
Evidence To The Contrary
Here's what Brad found out.
First, many of the ill effects that we may associate with fasting occur after extended periods of fasting. Short-term fasts, as Brad details in his book, do NOT demonstrate negative effects and have been shown to improve many of the biomarkers as I have listed above. His documented research and "sciency" audio files available had me sit up and take notice!
Brad's "Fasting Files", as I call them, which are part of the Eat Stop Eat book, include all kinds of nuggets, such as this one: after several hours without caloric intake of any kind, there is a marked increase of fatty acids in the blood stream. If no food has been recently eaten to account for this, then where do the fatty acids come from? Possibly stores in the body?
The Benefits Are In The "Intermittent Mini"
In Eat Stop Eat, Brad promotes fasts of no longer than 24 hours. And only one or two times a week, depending on your goals. The beauty of this is you never go a day without eating! A common pattern is dinner to dinner, or lunch to lunch. So, if you ate dinner at 6 one day, your IMF would be until dinner at 6 the next day. And it is very flexible – you can work your way up!
I have found intermittent minis to deliver to me personally in many ways:
~ great energy on fast days
~ trimmer in my middle
~ PHENOMENAL returns for my clients who have been utilizing this technique themselves.
Great deliver in terms of gentle weight loss, good energy, improved relationship with food and
eating, appetite moderation (quite possibly the increased insulin sensitivity), and detected
decrease of inflammation in the system.
Now, you might be thinking – as I did – if you were to fast for the day up to dinner, that all you-know-what would break lose when it came time for dinner. C'mon, I know that's what you're thinking! Because I was certain of it.
But you know what? That didn't happen. And it hasn't happened for me during the several weeks that I have been enjoying the many benefits of the IMF. As I already, said, I never thought I'd say it, but….me likey!
Filed under ADD & ADHD, Allergies, Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer, Colon Health, Healthy Foods, Menopause, Migraines, Weight Loss by on Nov 3rd, 2008. 
by Lani Muelrath, M.A., aka the Fitness DreamMaker
Let's face it, I love feeling fit and strong, and SuperSets are a powerful part of my workout routine for body shaping and – I'm finding – Fat Loss !
There's nothing like lithe strength (yes these two can go together!) to make you energetic and shapely at the same time. And the feeling of empowerment that comes with physical strength is not to be discounted.
And I love showing others the tools to get you there.
In last week's FitDream Ezine, I gave some specific pointers about how to play safe with weights by utilizing T-Tapp rehabilitative techniques. Now, I'm happy to share more about my own personal weight training workouts.
First, a little history. Several years ago, I worked out with weights pretty regularly. When I learned about T-Tapp, and the results of resistance training that I could achieve by using only the resistance of my own body with the initiation first of isometric contraction, I decided to give it a full-on shot to see what I could achieve with that. To say the least, I was surprised and delighted with the results AND that I now had something with which to travel so easily!
But frankly, I missed the feel of the weights. And now I enjoy BOTH! Actually, all 3: T-Tapp, Weight Training, and integration of T-Tapp techniques with weight training. NOTE: It is important to clarify that T-Tapp should NOT be done with weights – it is not designed to use more resistance than that which you can create with your own muscular contraction. However, you CAN apply T-Tapp alignment principles to weight training, which I presented recently in FitDream Ezine 2. I hope that this differentiation is clear.
Also, I wanted to build up some sports specific strength. While scuba diving last summer, I noticed those scuba tanks were a little more difficult to schlep around than I remembered. By the end of our two week trip, I had built up some good strength from heaving tanks into the truck – and it felt good! AND I wanted to be sure to keep that strength for our next upcoming trip.
So, when I returned from our trip in August, I pulled out my dumbells and resumed my favorite, most time-efficient and results-delivering type of weight workout: Supersets.
How Do Supersets Work?
Supersetting is easy to organize. Here's how I do it.
1) I select 6 exercises: 3 that focus on upper body, 3 that focus on lower body
2) I make sure that all exercises selected are compound in nature: that means they are not isolated muscle exercises.
So far so good! Now, here is the next part:
I combine 1 upper body compound exercise and one lower body compound exercise for each Superset. This will deliver up a total of 3 Supersets made up from the 6 different exercises. Are you with me? Let me clarify with an example:
Upper Body Compound Exercise: Push Ups
Lower Body Compound Exercise: Split Squat with Dumbbells
The Superset unfolds like this: I would do one set of pushups, immediately followed by one set of Split Squat with Dumbbells. Rest 20-30 seconds, and repeat. Twice. One Superset, done!
Then, I proceed to a second combination. Then a third.
Including my warmup, this is a 20 minute, total strength, body shaping, and renewal workout!
I then follow this with my Interval training, and the whole darn thing is done in less that 40 minutes. How do you like them apples?
Supersetting is something to be approached with excellent warm up, moderate weights as you get going, and full attention to proper exercise form. I was pleased and surprised at how rapidly I was able to increase the weights I was using, which told me I was building good muscle.
AND the fact that my strength went up while my weight stayed the same and my waist measurement went down, tells me that I was making optimal shifts in body composition.
And I'm counting on those scuba tanks being easier to schlep around come our next dive trip later this Fall!
P.S. If you are looking for something out there similar to Supersets as I practice and coach it, I recommend Turbulence Training. This is the best newest thing out there to organize Supersets into an easy-to-understand format.
Filed under Blog, Men's Health, Menopause, Motivation by on Oct 6th, 2008.
by Lani Muelrath, M.A., aka the Fitness DreamMaker
Let me ask you something.
What if you could find exercise that:
1) challenges your cardiovascular fitness (of course!)
2) builds muscle (anabolic activity)
3) invigorates and provides stress reduction at the same time
4) can be finished in 20 minutes 2-3 times per week.
Tada, it exists! And it’s right here at your fingertips and footprints. And it’s been here all along, it just got buried under all the “long, s-l-o-w” cardio information we’ve been presented with for the last few years.
The good news is, you needn’t do long, s-l-o-w to get the best benefits from cardio exercise, quite to the contrary! If you are willing to put a little more muscle and mind into the equation, you can slice your cardio time by huge chunks and come out ahead as well.
Interested? Here’s more….
What Exactly IS Interval Training?
Interval Training (IT) involves changing speed or resistance – and thus intensity – within the course of a cardiovascular workout. Thus, instead of a slow, long distance – or long, slow time – within your aerobic intensity aerobic training “zone”, you intersperse short, intense periods into otherwise more moderate minutes.
This approach – intermittent bouts of intensity systematically built in – works better for f*at loss and muscle building than long and slow does.
Bottom line, what I best like about IT is that it aligns beautifully with my preference for “short and to the point” fitness. Bang for your buck is essential with my busy life, and IT fits the bill.
AND (there’s more!) IT creates a huge afterburn effect, in terms of elevated metabolic advantage. I’m talking for HOURS after the exercise itself…not to mention that which comes along with the added muscle from this type of exercise. Now THAT is what I call great ROI! (return on investment!)
Simply put, the easiest way to do interval training is to start off at a good pace for about 5 minutes. A variety of modalities can be utilized: stationary bicycle, eliptical trainer, jogging/walking, for example.
Then, you pick up the intensity and go hard and as fast for a minute and then bring it back down for a minute or two – however long it takes for you to recover enough to do it again. Then you repeat the process for a total of only 15-20 minutes, including warmup and cool down. It is advisable to start with one interval a session, then progress to two, and so on.
The intervals can feel more intense than you might imagine. Jack LaLanne refers to it as imagining “you are running for your life” -that’s tough stuff! And also not for the foolhardy who may have been out of condition for a long time. Doctor’s clearance is always recommended. (I always think it’s funny that a doctor’s clearance isn’t required for laying around on the couch for years at a time! )
Another way to practice interval training is simply to keep changing your speed and intensity level every two minutes or so – go up and down – challenge yourself…
…Read MORE about Interval Training and Part 2 of this article here
Filed under ADD & ADHD, Blog, Men's Health, Menopause, Motivation, Weight Loss by on Sep 7th, 2008.
by Lani Muelrath M.A., the Fitness Dream Maker
Need to get clear about planning a nutritious eating plan? There is some breakthrough software that completely simplifies the process for you!
We know – or we SHOULD all know by now – that we build our health – and dig our graves – with our eating utensils. As a holistic fitness coach, I find that my clients come to me with a broad spectrum of understanding regarding what does constitute a healthy and balanced diet.
At the same time, they can have been so inundated with conflicting information that they don't know where to begin – so they just throw up their hands (and forks!) and eat what I call "chaotically".
And more often than not, chaotic eating delivers chaotic results.
I have just reviewed some very simple software that is designed for in-home (as well as professional) use. Meal Plans 101 is easily down loadable upon purchase or can be bought as a hard copy CD as well.
Here's how it works, once you've down loaded the software.
1) Enter your personal data: height, weight, weight goals (lose, maintain, or gain?)
2) Select what ratio of macro nutrients to which you wish to aspire with your dietary balance
3) Select from the food lists provided desired options for each exchange. In other words, you are building a daily balanced diet from foods that YOU like!
4) Click "enter", and a printable page with your day's selection and appropriate quantities to your weight goals is produced.
There you have it! You can also go in and change preferences at any time, if your goals need adjusting. It thus becomes an organic tool that grows with you as your weight loss, health, and dietary needs change. Simple!
For anyone who desires to get back on track with balanced structure to their eating day, this may be just the ticket. This provides convenience and support for anyone considering improving their dietary intake – whether for weight, allergy, or preventative diabetes, for example.
Lots more details – and easy online ordering – at Meal Plans 101.
Claim your FR*EE "7 Surefire Solutions for Fitness, Energy, and Weight Loss That LASTS!" Special Report AND weekly Lani's FitDream eZine, with fitness info, insights, motivation, and inspiration!
Filed under Allergies, Blog, Diabetes, Healthy Foods, Men's Health, Menopause, Motivation, Weight Loss by on Aug 19th, 2008.
by Lani Muelrath, M.A.
It's true – every precious pound of metabolism-boosting muscle on your body translates to roughly 50 more calories combusted each and every day.
When it comes to weight control, this adds up to an excellent metabolic advantage!
And it is an advantage that is relatively easy to create.
It also explains why you may discover, as you "move through time" – as I call getting older – that you may find your belt is inexplicably tighter and the shirt buttons easier to pop, even though you may not have (necessarily) changed your eating habits.
So what happened?
Metabolic Decline – A Function of Age or Simply a Reflection of Activity Levels?
A common complaint of the midlife human – or those approaching same – is the refrain "my metabolism is slowing down with age".
You may be getting older, and your metabolism may indeed be slowing down – but they do not necessarily need to go hand in hand.
Let me explain.
While it is true that older people, on an average, burn less calories per pound of bodyweight each day than someone younger, this is usually due to the fact that the muscle mass of the older individual is usually less.
Yet here's the good news. It doesn't need to be so.
If we look at the activity levels of the younger (under 35) vs. those in midlife and beyond, we can usually make a correlation between getting older and getting less active. Thus, the shift in metabolism is more often than not a function of activity than of age.
And THAT is something, that you CAN do something about!
Reduced Muscle Mass = Slower Metabolism
In their groundbreaking work about controlling the aging process, Biomarkers, Evans and Rosenbern (Simon and Schuster, 1991) confirm that "…Older people's reduced muscle mass is almost wholely responsible for the gradual reduction in their basal metabolic rate." With reduced muscle mass comes a decline in caloric demand. Keep in mind that muscle tissue is active, and comes with a steep nutritional demand. By contrast, fat tissue is metabolically passive; it just sits there as a form of stored energy. (I know, you didn't need me to tell you that!)
Interestingly, research has shown (The Weighting Game, Lawrence E. Lamb, M.D.) that muscle tissue itself maintains consistent levels of metabolic activity no matter what the age of the subject; it is simply the amount of muscle mass quite often decreases over time, due to – yes, you guessed it – decreased activity.
Practically speaking, as muscle mass decreases, we need about 50-100 fewer calories per day to maintain a stable body weight. That's due to the metabolic demands of the muscle tissue itself, and the energy to rebuild and move it around, as well. The problem is that we tend to just keep eating the same as we did before we might have experienced diminishing of that prized muscle tissue. It is so much easier – and brings more eating freedom – if we just maintain some muscle by staying active!
50 calories may not sound like a lot, but if you think about it, a couple of pounds of muscle could give you dietary wiggle room of at least 100 calories, which is the equivalent of a piece of bread, large piece of fruit, or glass of wine…not bad!
Yes, nutrition plays a big role in weight management – but the primary solution for an "aging metabolism" is exercise.
Why Muscle Is So Important: In A Nutshell
- Muscle is the driving force behind your metabolism; it is like money in the bank for getting and staying leaner.
- Muscle is an active tissue that is constantly renewing itself therefore requiring energy (calories).
- Muscle gives shape to your body.
- Muscle helps you perform more energetically and optimally as a woman or man.
There is one way to build muscle, and that is with resistance exercise. Personally, the workouts that I have found to deliver the most muscle-building resistance exercise are weight training, T-Tapp, and barre-type workouts that challenge the large muscles in the legs and hips. Each has its own variety of mega-muscle work that delivers.
Create your own metabolic advantage by building and maintaining muscle mass and density!
P.S. Be sure to claim your FREE Special Report AND weekly FitDream eZine, with fitness info, insights, motivation, and inspiration!
To your email every Thursday…
Filed under Blog, Men's Health, Menopause, Weight Loss by on Jul 31st, 2008.
