Is Stress Making You Fat?

Stress can wreak havoc on our ability to lose fat – whether from your job, kids, relationships, financial woes, diseases, scale weight, lack of sleep, road rage, favorite sports team, or life in general. Stress is defined as any change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain and can be positive or negative, as well as acute or chronic. You can experience it as a result of your environment, body, and thoughts.

While the initial response to acute stress can be temporary loss of appetite, chronic stress leads to the release of the hormone cortisol, which causes weight gain in several ways:

• Decreased Metabolism – leads to fewer calories burned

• Increased Craving (Emotional Eating) – results in higher intake of fatty, salty, and sugary food, which adds calories
• Altered Blood Sugar Levels – causes health risks, like heart attacks and diabetes

• Excess Abdominal Fat Storage – links to more health issues compared to other areas of stored fat

Cortisol is termed the "stress hormone" because it is secreted in times of physical, emotional, and/or psychological demand. Produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands located at the top of each kidney, cortisol can be altered from its normal cycle, with the highest levels being in the early morning and lowest during the evening. The amount secreted, due to stress, varies from person to person; some being more reactive in stressful situations than others. Although some cortisol is necessary for energy regulation, and mobilization, when too much gets released, it negatively impacts our body.

The diet industry has attempted to capitalize on this craze, by claiming supplements can reduce cortisol levels and increase fat loss. There has been no scientific evidence to support these supplements. The best cortisol inhibitor is aerobic and anaerobic exercise, which burns calories, builds muscle, and leads to fat loss.

Other effective means to minimize its release include:

• eating well balanced meals
• getting enough sleep
• incorporating meditation, relaxation, and deep breathing
• adding whole grain, high fiber foods
• avoiding stimulants like caffeine and cigarettes
• avoiding depressants like alcohol
• taking vitamins (especially B, C, and D)

Since stress will always be part of our lives, it is important to learn how to cope with it. Too much stress over time, combined with poor managing skills, may cause chemical and physical imbalances, and eventually lead to disease and death. Contact Dan to help identify potential risks associated with stress-induced fat gain or to maximize your workouts while minimizing the amount of cortisol released.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

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Carving Out a Nutritious Thanksgiving Meal

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the Calorie Control Council states the average American will consume roughly 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat during that day. This type of overindulgence would give any competitive eater a run for his money. Some might see the holidays as a time to put their health and fitness goals on hold, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With some discipline, planning, and the right mind set, you can prevent yourself from falling off of the fitness wagon.

Planning ahead is essential. Be prepared so you always have the option to make healthy choices. If you are not hosting Thanksgiving, check ahead to see what is on the menu. Offer to bring a particular dish to balance any nutritious food shortage. Be aware of mindless eating: where you munch on foods without realizing how many calories you are consuming. Eat slowly, mindfully, and do not linger around food in order to avoid potential excess calories.

Making small changes will help minimize unwanted calorie intake and ultimately an increase in fat weight. Eat a healthy and balanced breakfast as well as additional nutritious meals every couple of hours prior to the big feast. This will help decrease overeating. Alternatively, starving yourself beforehand is not a wise decision either; this tends to result in overcompensation, which also leads to stored fat.

If you are cooking, choose fresh fruit and vegetables over canned and frozen foods, with preservatives. Substitute canola or olive oil, which are healthier alternatives to vegetable oil. Choose sweet potatoes and yams, a more nutritious option to white potatoes, and make sure to keep the skin on since it is high in fiber. Trim the turkey skin due to its high amount of unhealthy fat. Substitute foods high in calories, fat, and/or sugar, with their lighter counterparts. Not all turkeys are created equal; be aware of self-basting birds, that are injected with a high salt water solution to preserve moisture, which leads to high sodium levels. Check the label!

Focus on filling your plate with healthy choices: white breast meat, sweet potatoes, and vegetables, while limiting the amounts of stuffing, dark meat, and turkey skin. Make sure to eat enough during the meal to satisfy your taste buds and stomach, in order to not overindulge in calorie dense desserts. If you conveniently left room for some, opt for healthy choices like fruit salads or desserts made from clean eating recipes. If traditional pie is a necessity, choose pumpkin (with minimal whipped cream) over higher calorie pecan or apple.

For beverages, limit alcohol consumption and sugar-sweetened drinks; instead choose water or low sugar alternatives. Not only does it add a significant amount of excess calories, but alcohol stimulates food consumption and can also increase subjective feelings of hunger. Click here to learn more on how alcohol negatively inhibits your exercise and nutrition goals.

With the start of the holiday season right around the corner, the potential of unhealthy food choices is vast. It is important to know the dangers that might lie ahead. Educate yourself to make smarter eating decisions. Want other healthy food alternatives for Thanksgiving dinner or general nutrition advice for optimal performance? Contact Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net to learn more.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

Got Muscle Fever?

Most people have experienced a high fever; this is different. Although the term might not sound familiar, if you have ever had muscle pain, soreness, and/or stiffness roughly 24-72 hours after a new, varied, or strenuous exercise routine, the answer is yes! Muscle fever, also known as Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is a normal response to the adaptation process of training.

DOMS is thought to be a result of microscopic tears within muscle fibers. Tearing can occur with any movement, but mostly during eccentric loads, when the muscle is forced to contract while it is lengthened. Examples of this include walking downstairs, jogging downhill, and the lowering phase of movements like in squats and push-ups. Soreness is felt when the muscle is either stretched, contracted, or under pressure-- but not at rest. In addition to small muscle tears, an inflammatory response, and/or swelling within the muscle, might play a role in DOMS.

In order to minimize or prevent these symptoms, gradually increase the intensity of any workout routine over a period of a several weeks. In theory, limiting exercises to just concentric (muscle shortening) and isometric (muscle length does not change) movements is ideal; however, eccentric loading is often unavoidable, or not practical, given the choice of exercise.

If you're past the point of no return and already sore, there is no definitive scientifically based treatment protocol; although, there are several viable options to help ease the discomfort. The key is to increase blood flow to muscles through repeated bouts of low intensity exercise only after you have fully recovered from the previous workout. Massage, hot baths, saunas, and foam rolling will enhance blood flow as well. (Click here to learn the benefits of foam rolling.) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen and Advil) as well as nutritional supplements (like vitamin C and E) both assist in recovery. From a nutrition standpoint, fueling your body with enough protein to assist in muscle repair and growth, along with sugar (through fruits) will help the healing process.

This type of soreness should not be confused with any muscle pain or fatigue experienced during exercise, or with any strain, sprain, and/or sharp pain resulting from an acute injury. If you are unsure how to start an exercise routine that is safe and effective, or you want to learn more about DOMS, contact Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

Building a Better Behind

Whether it’s too big, small, flat, or flabby, most people would love to improve the shape of their butt. Although genetics and body type play a role, strengthening the muscles, along with decreasing the subcutaneous fat surrounding the glutes, are essential to sculpting and firming up that behind.  

The anatomy of the glutes consists of three main muscles: the gluteus maximus (the largest and most visible), along with the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which are found underneath. These muscles extend and laterally rotate the hip as well as extend the trunk.  These muscles are activated with several movements including standing, jumping, squatting, lunging, and deadlifting.  To maximize fat loss and lean muscle gain for your glute development, it is essential to combine effective strength movements, such as some of the exercises described above, with cardiovascular training.  Click here to learn how to maximize your cardio session.

Beyond the aesthetic benefit, training these gluteal muscles minimizes the risk of injury associated with glute weakness such as knee pain, lower back issues, and pulled hamstrings.  Having strong glutes allows anyone from the fitness enthusiast to the elite athlete to run faster and more efficiently, jump higher and farther, rotate and change direction quicker, and lift heavier weight.

Effective strengthening exercises range from more isolated movements such as the hip bridge, quadruped hip extension, and hip flexor stretch to more advanced squats, lunges, rear foot elevated split squats, step-ups, and deadlifts.  It’s important to activate and target the glutes for optimal performance on and off the playing field, as well as to look great in those new pair of jeans.    

Proper form and range of motion are essential for maximal benefit with minimal risk for injury when performing these movements.  Find out how to achieve this and to learn additional exercises by contacting Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net.

 

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

How to Maximize Your Cardio

Do you spin your wheels doing your cardiovascular workouts? We live in a world that wants instant gratification. With limited time, people are always looking for the most efficient way to maximize it. When it comes to cardio, they want to know which exercise will burn the most calories for maximal fat loss. With options ranging from upper or lower body, sitting or standing, high or low impact....it can be overwhelming for any novice gym goer.

So what's the best? The exercise you'll do long term, not get bored with, and will get you into your target heart rate zone...that's the one! Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to which is most effective. Ultimately it comes down to the intensity and duration of the session that will impact the amount of calories burned and fat weight lost.

Cardiovascular (or aerobic) fitness is the ability of your heart, lungs, and organs to consume, transport, and utilize oxygen. With proper conditioning, your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body while utilizing oxygen more effectively. This results in a higher level of cardiovascular fitness.

The two primary categories of cardio are weight bearing and non-weight bearing exercises. Weight bearing is any exercise or activity where your feet and legs support your body weight against gravity. Examples include: jogging, running, stepping, walking, golf, and tennis. These exercises are beneficial to strengthening bones, tendons, and ligaments.

During non-weight bearing activities, your feet and legs are supported by your body weight against gravity. Example includes: cycling, rowing, and swimming. These are beneficial because of the lower impact they have on your joints, compared to weight bearing exercises.

In order to improve cardio fitness, it is essential to increase time, distance, speed, and/or intensity. Continually doing the same cardio routine leads to adaptation (due to an improved level of fitness) which results in your body becoming less efficient at expending calories. Interval training, which is working at varied intensities within your target zone, is the best way to maximize caloric expenditure.

The quicker you can reach your target zone (usually through high impact exercise) the more effective you'll be at increasing the amount of calories burned. Unfortunately, the built in heart rate monitors found on cardio machines do not offer the most accurate way to gauge this target zone since the pulse from your fingertips and hands are not as strong as your chest. The most precise and reliable way to measure your heart rate is to utilize a chest strap monitor.

Find out specifically where your target heart rate range is and how to optimize your cardiovascular training by contacting Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!