Decrease in Calories Burned: Weight? Efficiency? Age?

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I started spinning about seven years ago because the brochure promised that some people could burn as much as 400 calories in one session. As someone who is always watching calories and the scale that sounded really appealing. So I signed up. Looking back at my training records, the first year or so, I did burn an average of 400 calories per session. The calorie count is reasonably accurate because I use a heart rate monitor that takes my fitness level, weight, height and age into consideration.

But something’s happened. Fast forward six years. Now my average calorie burn per class for 10 classes is 312. The class lasts an average of 8 minutes more and is harder. (I call my instructor Leo the Maniac – with 4 speed drills and other harder maneuvers throughout the session). And my statistics show it’s harder, because my average training load (a measure of exertion based on heart rate and duration of exercise) is 97.4), whereas six years ago it was 91.5. So what’s going on here?

Is it weight? You burn more calories if you weight more. Well, I don’t have records of exactly how much I weighed six years ago, but I have records for several years around then and know I could have only been about 10 pounds heavier. I don’t feel like doing the math, but somehow I don’t feel even if I was 10 pounds heavier, it could have made that much difference, and looking at the records, it’s likely I was only five pounds heavier.

Is it an increase in efficiency? Some experts claim that your body gets used to an exercise and becomes more efficient, and therefore burns fewer calories. I’ve reviewed several articles and it’s doubtful that I have gained enough efficiency over the past six years to account for the difference. One article states Lance Armstrong, training over six hours a day, only increased efficiency by 1% a year.

Is it age? I’m six years older and VO₂ max (an indicator of oxygen intake which indicates physical fitness) decreases with age. I’m not sure of the connection between VO₂ max and efficiency, but logic tells me if you are less efficient, you’d have to work harder (burn more calories?). Any experts out there care to help us understand this?

Whatever the reason for the decreasing calorie burn, it stinks! That’s 88 calories fewer a session, and assuming I exercise only four times a week (I actually exercise six times a week), over a year that’s 18,304 calories fewer per year, or 5.23* pounds a year! No wonder I have to eat less and exercise more to maintain my weight at 15 pounds more than I weighed in my 30s.

On the brighter side, at least that keeps me jumping, and spinning, and jogging which will hopefully keep me enjoying the finer things in life for many years to come.

PS – this week I go on Medicare – that sort of makes me feel old. But if you took a soft focus picture of me (to hide the wrinkles) in my exercise clothes, you might mistake me for one of those 30 somethings! And I can keep up with them in spinning. Just don’t ask me for my 5K time. So all the hard work does have its benefits.

So keep your exercise program up, even if you do burn fewer calories!

* Calcuation for pounds per year based on 88 fewer calories per exercise session: (88 calories * 4 days/week * 52 weeks/year = calories in a year / 3500 calories per pound) = 5.23

National Chocolate Day - Enjoy this Guilty Pleasure!

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October 28 is National Chocolate Day, so what better time to extol the benefits of chocolate?  As a hard core dark chocolate lover, today’s blog is not going to go into excruciating details about all the health benefits. Instead, I’ll just wax poetic about the joy of chocolate, list the benefits, and provide references for those who want details.

I’m sure you won’t be able to tangibly notice the many health benefits researchers are starting to credit chocolate with, but one benefit you will notice. Women have known it for years, Chocolate is one of the best mood enhancers there is!

To show you how to get the maximum benefit from this mood-enhancing substance, I’ll go out on a limb and share my daily chocolate ritual. It’s one the most relaxing, yet mood enhancing times of my day. My favorite chocolate is a Ghirardelli Twilight 72% dark chocolate square. If you don’t like dark chocolate, choose your own favorite chocolate and imagine this ritual in your mind; or better yet, get your favorite chocolate and join me. Do this ritual slowly, so you can savor every second. 

I slowly unwrap the chocolate square. I listen to the crinkle of the plastic wrap, which starts to fortify my senses with anticipation.  I break off about ¼ of the square. I hold it to my nose and take a deep breath, smelling it’s chocolaty goodness. Then I lay it on my tongue,  close my eyes and let the chocolate soften and melt. I slowly move it along my tongue to make sure the sweet, creamy, chocolaty  flavor fills my entire mouth.  I concentrate solely on the taste, smell and feel of the chocolate. My breathing slows and deepens as I savor every last flavonoid. When the flavor disappears, I pop the next piece in my mouth and repeat the ritual. After the last piece has melted, I still savor the dwindling flavor and the absolute joy and peacefulness from my chocolate ritual.

That leads me to the second major benefit of chocolate. That 60 calorie chocolate square is much lower in calories other deserts, well, maybe not Jell-O, but which would you rather have? And, in an earlier blog, Five Tips to Reduce Eating, chocolate can be the key factor in two of the five tips. First, the fat in chocolate can stimulate your “I’m full” hormones. Second, you can use chocolate as a symbol to end your meal, signaling your mind and body that after you eat the chocolate, you are done eating.

Finally, even with all the benefits of chocolate, go ahead and still consider it your guilty pleasure. That might even enhance the pleasure of your daily chocolate ritual.

Benefits and references

 Mood enhancer (this one doesn’t need references, does it?)

Lower LDL – bad cholesterol

Reduce risks of atherosclerosis

Reduce high blood pressure, NY Times Evidence of the Health Benefits of Chocolate

About.com, Health Benefits of Chocolate

Cleveland Clinic – Heart-health Benefits of Chocolate Revealed

Acid Reflux - Find What Works for You

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I’ve suffered with Acid Reflux (GERD, Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease) most of my adult life.  This week’s blog won’t give you medical details, I’ll just share some observations. These are obviously not scientific research, but I’ve found that in many chronic medical conditions, a person has to listen to medical advice, but also has to listen to their own body, and the results of medical tests, to determine what works for them. 

What’s worked for me

In the past two years, I’ve been relatively free of symptoms, which is excellent because I am taking Fosamax, known to create heartburn problems.  I only occasionally need an over-the-counter antacid (Pepcid-AC is my favorite). The previous ten years, I had persistent problems. but I didn’t follow all the dietary recommendations (e.g., I drank caffeinated coffee).  The biggest changes that seem to have worked for me is that I lost 20 pounds and stopped drinking caffeinated coffee.  If I had to guess, I’d say the weight loss contributed more, because I strictly watch my diet and portion control to maintain my weight. Portion control helps because eating smaller meals reduces GERD symptoms.  But I also don’t drink caffeinated drinks.

Everybody had different triggers

In talking to many of my friends who have acid reflux, we all have different triggers. So it pays to be an observer. For some unknown reason, bagels trigger my heartburn.  Only 1/3 of those larger bagels makes my stomach very unhappy . Fats also seem to trigger the heartburn. I still remember my very first severe heartburn incident came from eating a croissant. Orange juice and Champaign are totally off my list. Anti-inflammatory drugs can also trigger heartburn.

I am not particularly bothered by spicy or hot foods (unless I really overdo it), certain wines (red or white), and I confess, I eat 1-2 Chocolate squares each night after dinner. I’ve read somewhere that the caffeine in chocolate is different (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). I do seem to be able to tolerate tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, V8, and vinegar, although I don’t eat these foods in excess. Other people I’ve talked to can’t eat tomatoes or drink wine, but fats don’t seem to be a problem.

Delayed reaction

When I was having heartburn problems and drinking caffeinated coffee, I didn’t notice an immediate reaction to coffee, as I did other foods. I may have incorrectly assumed caffeine wasn’t a problem.  So before you decide a food is ok for you, I’d say stop eating that food for several weeks to see if your heartburn improves.

Warning – Bone Density and Proton Pump Inhibitors

To manage my GERD, I was on Nexium for two years. My bone density was already low, and it dropped 5% in two years, where it hadn’t dropped in the previous eight years.  So be very careful if you have lower-than normal bone density and  work with your doctor to manage both conditions.

Have you found something successful in managing your GERD?  Share it with us.

GERD resources

eMedicineHealth.com

MedicineNet.com – an excellent article covering all aspects of GERD

US National Library of Medicine

A Change of Focus to Start Healthy Eating

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Many medical insurers are adopting wellness programs to save themselves and participants money.  My insurer’s wellness program consists mostly of printed materials and webinars.  Does education work? Anyone who owns a TV must have head that a diet high in saturated fats and sugars bad for you. So why, with all the knowledge we have about health, are people in the United States becoming fatter and less healthy?

With my decades of training and organizational change background, I know that education or information alone isn’t enough to bring about change.

Psychologists and change agents sometimes say that it takes a major shock, like a heart attack, to push people to new behavior. Yet many people don’t change their behavior even after a stroke or triple bypass surgery. But why do some people who have never had a major shock switch to more healthy lifestyles?

It’s a really complex problem. I certainly don’t have the answer. And despite all the experts, self-help books and programs out there, there doesn’t seem to be a major shift in our wellness.  So I’ve wondered, just why is it that we don’t change and what might help shift our behaviors?

Some reasons why we continue unhealthy behaviors

The feeling of being deprived of pleasure. Let’s face it. Our body likes the taste of fats and sugars. We associate these tastes with comfort. And once we’ve become accustomed to the taste of certain fats and sugars, it’s hard to give them up or switch to their healthier counterparts (e.g., from saturated fats to unsaturated; from high processed sugars to natural sugars in fruits).

It seems too hard.  It does take a considerable amount of effort to adopt a healthier eating style, especially initially. If you fix your own food, you have to experiment with new recipes and change your way of shopping and cooking. If you buy prepared food or eat out, you also have to invest a lot of time and energy in finding new foods and/or restaurants.

Medicine will fix me.  Since medicine seems to have a fix for most of our unhealthy behaviors (pills for high cholesterol or diabetes, procedures for opening clogged arteries), we figure we can continue with our bad behaviors and medicine will fix it.

One Possible Solution – A Change of Focus

I’m working on a coaching class right now. One of the coaching principles to help people improve their performance is to help them change their focus to help them achieve more. People focus on the wrong things and that blocks them from achieving goals. So what does that mean in terms of changing to healthy eating behaviors?

Perhaps if we change our focus on the three examples above, we can move to healthier behaviors or help our loved ones move to healthier behaviors.

Instead of focusing on the craving for animal fats and refined sugars, focus the taste or experience of the healthier food. When buying or using olive oil, imagine you are on a Greek Island, eating like the Greeks or in Rome or , eating in an Italian restaurant. Choose sweeter, juicier fruits instead of sugared desserts and focus on bright colors and sweet juicy taste as you eat them.  When you enter the produce section, take a minute to focus on the artistry of the section. The bright colors and beautifully arranged fruits and veggies can look as pretty and inviting as an impressionist painting. Much prettier than a bunch of boxes in the freezer compartment. Do the same with your plate. A plate filled with a variety of colors from fruits and vegetables and be much prettier than a plate of only browns and whites from only meat and potatoes.

Instead of focusing on how hard it is to do all the things you need to do to switch eating habits, focus on making healthy eating an enjoyable family activity to experiment and learn about new things. Spread out healthy recipes on the table and have the family vote for a new one to try. Pick a fruit or vegetable you normally don’t eat and have everyone in the family search for a healthy recipe that everyone might like.  Competitive families can even make it a contest to see who finds the best new recipe each week.

Instead of focusing on the fact that pills might make some of you medical tests get better numbers, focus on your overall health and well being.  Cholesterol reducing drugs have some side effect such as reducing the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (e.g., A and E). In addition, unsaturated fats have a lot of other health benefits such as eliminating belly fat, reducing the risk for certain forms of cancer. So just taking the drug alone does not have the health benefit of switching to unsaturated fats.

In my first blog, I talked about the NLP Swish technique to replace unwanted thoughts. The Swish technique can be used as a tool to change your focus and help you and your family on the way to healthier eating.