Best Diet Ever: Only no calorie drinks allowed

Photo by Asif Ali A

Bye, bye, venti, mocha, chocolate, triple, whip, soy, vanilla macchiato! As far as your body is concerned, liquid calories are "ghost" calories. You might drink them, but they don't fill you up like solid food. So not only do you get the extra calories, but you get no satiety for it. Double whammy! The best choice is water. Don't think you've got to drink bottled water unless you've got a few bucks burning a hole in you pocket and if that's the case, why not send it to me instead of wasting it on tap water from Cleveland.

Tap water is a fine choice, but if you like the taste of filtered water, buy a home water filter. I've never used those Brita pitchers, but I have owned the Pur brand that fits your kitchen sink and I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. Sugary soft drinks are pure candy. I know lots of people have switched to these Vitamin Water drinks. They have fewer calories, but are still not calorie-free. If you use them to kick your soft drink habit, that's great, but try to wean yourself off of them as well.

What about caffeinated drinks?

Four out of five people on the planet consume caffeine in some for every single day. 5.3 billion people can't be wrong. If you do drink caffeinated beverages, they are a reasonable choice hydration-wise. If you don't, we'll just point and laugh, but we don't mean anything by it. In the past, caffeine was considered a hydration no-no because it is a diuretic. Studies have shown that it is a rather mild diuretic and the amount of water that stays with you vastly exceed the amount that you lose via urination. Obviously, if you've popping No Doze like Pez...that's not the case. Coffee and tea are good choices, as long as you don't load them up with sugar and cream.

What about alcoholic drinks?

Alcohol is a very powerful diuretic and results in a net loss of hydration and alcoholic drinks are definitely not calorie free. Stay away from high-calorie mixed drinks and only drink occasionally. Not only will the calories get you, but alcohol has been shown to inhibit fat burning while it's in your system. If you are really serious about losing fat, seriously consider cutting your alcohol consumption.

What about "diet" drinks?

You don't have to search on the Internet very long to discover that even being in the same room as a diet drink is enough to kill you. People who are against diet drinks are nothing if not passionate in their hatred. I take a slightly less extreme stance...I don't think a diet drink now and again is going to hurt you. There will not doubt be comments left linking to studies showing that aspartame produces methanol, a toxic alcohol, when metabolized by the body. I've read the study...I can't dispute it. It is a very small amount though, and we can't forget that when talking about poisons, we must consider dosage. Even water in too high of a "dose" can kill you, but no one is walking around screaming that water is killing humanity. Personally, I drink, maybe one diet drink every 3 days or so. If I thought I was going to give myself cancer as a result of that, I wouldn't do it. Everyone knows someone who drinks 6+ of these drinks every single day. I don't think I would be comfortable drinking that many. Should you drink them? Only you can decide that for yourself.

Where do you stand on the diet drink debate? Do you drink them or not?

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The Curse of the All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bar

Photo by spo0nman

You've decided to start that diet, in earnest, so for lunch, instead of heading to the local greaseburger palace with your comrades, you convince everyone that you should hit the local salad bar instead. After a lot of grumbling, your powers of persuasion work their magic and you hit the salad bar. You load up your plate with a few salad-y items, along with some of the potato salad, pasta salad, and man, does that Thai fried wonton noodle salad look good. This diet "thang" ain't so bad, after all.

You lovingly coat the contents of the entire plate with a little ambrosia of the gods...that's ranch dressing to the uninitiated. Then a little, or a lot, of fried goodness in the form of bacon bits never hurt anybody. Hey, at least they aren't those artificial Bac-O things. Those would be a tragedy! By the way, isn't "natural" better for you? Buttery croutons? Check...and freshly made this morning! What's that your hearing? The scintillating, siren song of the bread section calling your name? Corn bread, blueberry muffins, gingerbread muffins, and pizza! Check, check, check, and um, yeah...check! Whew, not bad...for Round 1.

What is it about salad bars that cause people to throw every ounce of common sense regarding healthy eating out of the door? Just because you are at a salad bar doesn't make the pizza there, a healthier choice. NEWSFLASH! IT'S NOT EVEN GOOD PIZZA! Every salad joint I've ever been to has enough healthy choices to satisfy even the pickiest eater. Take advantage of it and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that you don't normally keep around the house.

Good choices:

• The veggies (yes, even the avocado), pick a variety of colors
• The fruit
• Olive oil and vinegar dressing
• Baked potato or sweet potato (watch those toppings!)
• Cottage cheese
• Clear broth soups

So-so choices:

• Pizza - depends. I've seen some thin crust pizzas with a little cheese and lots of vegetables that were reasonable.

Not-so-good choices:

• High fat dressings - that would be most of them
• Cream-based soups - nothing like a little heavy cream to ruin something healthy
• Bread - I'm not a low-carb nazi, but in a salad bar go for something more nutritious
• Desserts - Ice cream, puddings, cake, cookies

I don't want to sound as if I believe that tasty, unhealthy fare should never cross your lips again. In fact, I say the opposite...you should plan several meals per week where you specifically have whatever food you want. What I am saying is that if you are going to a "healthy" restaurant, eat healthy. If you are going to a restaurant to have a "cheat" meal, then don't compromise, eat something really, really good. You start to get into trouble when you hang out between the two, eating meals that aren't particularly healthy and that aren't satisfying cravings.

Do you frequent all-you-can-eat salad bars? You aren't the guy/gal piling on the cheese and ranch dressing, are you? I didn't think so.

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Best Diet Ever: Minimize processed carbohydrates

Oh no, I can see the forces of carb-loving and carb-hating evil gathering in the distance. Do carbs make you fat or are they the body's most important energy source? Well, which is it!? I've always been a proponent of the theory that a calorie is a calorie and that all weight loss is dependent on calories in vs. calories out. That opinion is based on my personal experience of losing 60 pounds and maintaining that loss by doing lots of exercise and maintaining a calorie deficit with no regard to changing the foods that I eat, only eating less of them.

Having said that, studies done by Harvard Medical School, and more recently The University of Pennsylvania, have found that a certain percentage of people respond better to a low carb approach to eating. The high responders to the low carb diets are people who have metabolic syndrome, Type II diabetes, and hyperinsulinemia. I'll have a post with more information on this topic in the near future. What I can say is that from a nutrition perspective, highly processed, refined carbohydrates like sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour, and white rice are all empty calories. Save your allotment of daily calories for more nutritious fare by getting your carbs from fruits, vegetables, and a small amount of whole grains.

If you are a potato eater, try sweet potatoes, as they are a more nutrient dense choice than a regular potato, and in my not so humble opinion, much tastier, plus they have the added benefit of being an antioxidant-rich food. My family eats rice several nights a week and we love short, sweet, brown rice. That's what it's called. It has a slightly nutty texture that really adds to a meal. If you cook with white flour, try mixing it 50:50 with whole wheat flour until you become accustomed to the whole wheat taste, with the goal of eventually going to all whole wheat.

Have you ever tried cutting down on carbs? If so, how difficult was it and how long have you stuck with it?

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Visualize yourself thin!

Visualization is a tool that has been proven to be effective in motivating people to achieve their goals. Now I feel compelled to stop right here and say that visualization combined with action is great, but visualization alone will get you nowhere.

One day a carpenter decided that he was done building houses for a living. Now our carpenter was a very pious man, so he decided to start praying with all of his might that he would win the lottery so he could build the house of his dreams and live the good life. Every morning, he would pray and pray that God would let him win the lottery, checking the newspaper to see if he had won. Well, this continued for ten years, until one day, the carpenter checked the numbers to see if he had one, only to be disappointed once again. He looked skyward and said, "God. I've been praying that I would win the lottery every day for ten years. I've been a good, reverent, and righteous person. Why haven't you let me win?" To the man's surprise, God responded in a booming voice, "You have been a good, righteous man, but what do you want me to do? YOU'VE GOT TO BUY A TICKET!"

Imagining yourself having the things you want is great to keep you working toward your goals, but this is only 1% of the work required to achieve those things. The other 99%, the real meat and potatoes, is action. Whether you pray, hope, wish, or just rely on dumb luck as a means of achieving your goals, do the things that will lead to accomplishing those goals. Luck smiles upon those who work hard.

Follow the suggestions in these fitness, diet, and nutrition posts. You can and will be more fit, lose that extra weight, and live a healthier life.

Have you ever used some form of visualization to motivate yourself to achieve your goals?

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Best Diet Ever: Drink one gallon of water a day

Yes, an entire gallon! Only oxygen is more urgently needed than water. Don't skimp on your water intake. Dehydration wreaks havoc on bodily processes and causes people to feel lethargic throughout the day. Dehydration can cause severe cramps during exercise, so ensure that you drink 16 oz. of water before any exercise and continue drinking during any strenuous exercise, especially if it's an outdoor activity and/or hot outside.

Staying properly hydrated will also help you not overeat when meal or snack times roll around. I've read that if you are dehydrated, your body misinterprets the thirst signal as hunger causing you to eat when you are really thirsty. I don't know that I buy that reasoning, but studies have shown that drinking water throughout the day, especially before meals, causes you to eat less because your stomach is full. Your brain gets the "I'm full. I can stop eating now" signal with less food.

Can you drink too much water?

It is possible to drink too much water, but it is very difficult. Within the past few months, a woman participating in a radio station's water drinking contest died after consuming large amounts of water in a short period of time. The actual cause of death in instances of water intoxication is an electrolyte imbalance, called hyponatremia, which draws water out of the cells in the body. Long distance endurance athletes, who do not supplement with electrolyte tablets, are especially susceptible to hyponatremia because excessive sweating for long periods of time deplete the body of both water and electrolytes, but drinking water alone is insufficient to replace lost electrolytes.

In summary, drinking a gallon of water a day is a good goal to achieve optimal hydration. If you are going to exercise for less than an hour, plain water is the best choice for hydration. If you are exercising in hot temperatures or for longer than an hour, a drink containing electrolytes, like Gatorade, is a better choice. If you are participating in an extremely long distance endurance event like running a marathon, ultra running, doing a century bike ride, or participating in an Ironman-distance triathlon, consider taking electrolyte tablets to maintain your electrolyte balance in addition to drinking frequently.

Do you think you drink enough during the day? Do you routinely take water with you when you exercise outdoors?

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Product Review: Ultimate Direction FastDraw

The summer heat is increasing the need to bring along water or a sports drink when you are exercising outdoors. If you are going to be exercising for an hour or less, plain water is what your body needs. If you are outside for longer than 1 hour, consider the use of a sports drink to replenish electrolytes and carbohydrates. Either way, you are going to need something in which to carry your fluids. You can certainly carry a bottle of water, but for me, the FastDraw is a cheap option that lets me carry my water without tiring out my hands from gripping the bottle.

I've owned all types of hydration systems: hydration pack systems (camelbaks), fanny pack/bottle holder systems, and hand held bottle straps, like the FastDraw. Depending on how much water I need to carry, I go with the FastDraw as a first choice, and if I need to carry more water, I'll add a fanny pack that can hold an additional bottle. I like the convenience of having the bottle in my hand, and I tend to drink more because of it. When I finish the bottle in the hand strap, I switch it out with the bottle in my fanny pack. Works great for me.

Things I like about the FastDraw:

• The water bottle that comes with the FastDraw has a cool "kicker" valve that is very easy to open and close.
• Most standard size water bottles fit the strap.
• If you trip and fall, not that I ever do or anything, a hand held water bottle can protect your hands and wrists. You might destroy the bottle (see below), but that's a much easier problem to solve than fixing a broken hand or wrist.
  

Think I don't like about the FastDraw:

• The bottle that I got with the FastDraw started to leak so badly between the bottle and the cap that I had to toss it. Granted, I took a nasty spill out on the trail and mashed it on a big rock, but I expected it to still be usable. It wasn't. Maybe I'm asking too much.
• The version that I own only has a very small pouch. I wish I had sprung for one of the versions with more space to put things. I would like to have enough room to put a gel and maybe a tiny first aid kit. As it stands, I can only put in a key, which is not quite big enough.
  

Despite the fact that I'm a bit irked about the bottle leaking, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I looked at all other options and I still feel it was the best choice for "on the move" hydration.