If Not Now, When?

Fitness-After-50 - Thomas D. Manfredi, Publisher
tom@fitness-after-50.com
http://www.fitness-after-50.com
September 4, 2006; Vol. 2, Issue 9
Published the first Monday of every month

THIS ISSUE: Ten Ways to Reduce Calories and Help Control Weight

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Ten Ways to Reduce Calories and Help Control Weight
4) Teleclasses
4) Question & Answer
5) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Well, the Labor Day weekend is almost over, and most people are reluctantly starting to wind down their summer activities - such as picnics, vacations, and trips to the local beach or pool. If you have increased your physical activity during the summer months, I hope you will try to find ways to keep it up as we move into Fall and Winter. Don't forget, if you need some ideas on maintaining a regular exercise plan check out my site fitness-after-50.com for some helpful hints.

I have been traveling quite a bit this past month on business and it looks like there is going to be more of the same as the year moves forward. Several weeks ago I spent 4 days on the East coast and the following week I was on the West coast for 3 days. Next weekend my wife and I are going to New Mexico for a long weekend to visit friends. The day after we get back, I am flying up to Toronto, Canada.

Traveling through and working in multiple time zones over a short period of time can really wreak havoc on your body. I have been doing this for about 14 years now and I guess I tolerate it better than most, but it is still a challenge. One area that is greatly affected by this much travel is the ability to maintain a regular exercise regime. If you are accustomed to exercising in the morning and you travel to a time zone that is 3 hours ahead of your normal one your body can get pretty messed up. As I think about this it seems to me that this might be a good topic on which to write a future article for this newsletter. Let me know if this something that you might find interesting. In the interim, i'm going to start researching the topic a little more.

I hope you have a great month. I'll be talking to you again in a few weeks.

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi
tom@fitness-after-50.com
fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Ten Ways to Reduce Calories and Help Control Weight

1. Monday morning weigh in
A good way to help you control your weight is to keep checks on it weekly. It's important to know what's happening with both your body weight and fat percentage. If you're going to weigh yourself , do it on Monday morning when you'll see the results of what you did over the weekend. If we're going to cheat, most of us do it on the weekend. Knowing that you're going to weigh yourself on Monday can help keep you on track over the weekend. Or, if you do slip over the weekend, a Monday morning weigh in can help give you that little incentive to get back on track.

2. The party plate plan
If you go to a party that has snacks (and what party doesn't?), make sure you put your snacks on a plate, and don't put more than two foods on your plate at one time. Putting lots of different foods on your plate will usually cause you to overeat. By putting only two foods on your plate you are forcing yourself to choose what you want to try. And often, you'll be satisfied after only one refill.

3. The popcorn snack
When you're watching TV and you feel like you just have to have a snack, try air-popped popcorn. Four cups have about the same calories as 15 potato chips. If you think air-popped popcorn tastes too bland try flavoring it with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or some other flavor that you like.

4. A trick for those of us who are chocoholics
If you must have some chocolate, try dark chocolate dipped strawberries instead of chocolate truffles. The strawberries have about half the calories and are filled with anti-oxidants. But try to remember that even though the strawberries are better for you, don't over indulge.

5. The middle of the cake
Many birthday parties have a sheet cake as part of the celebration. Ask for a piece from the middle rather than an overly frosted end and you will save yourself 100 calories or more.

6. Halloween treats
Many of us enjoy giving out treats to the kids on Halloween. Unfortunately, it can be hard to resist eating as many of those little candy bars as you give out, or saving a bunch to snack on for several days after the event. Try handing out small packages of raisins or a little trinket instead.

7. The lozenge substitute
The self control to keep from grazing on hors d'oeuvres can be very allusive at times. If you think you're going to have a problem resisting the hors d'oeuvres at a party, you may want to try sucking on a menthol flavored lozenge. Each one has less than 20 calories and they'll last up to half an hour each. Additionally, the menthol flavor will usually be strong enough to keep other foods from tasting good.

8. Drink the bubbly
Parties are one of the biggest temptations most of us have when it comes to ingesting extra calories. Not all of those calories come from the food we eat. Festive drinks can be a big calorie problem. Instead of having that 300+ calorie margarita, try having a 90 calorie glass of champagne. Or better yet, drink sparkling water with some lemon and you can help your friends by being the designated driver.

9. Hot dogs do the trick
Protein helps to satisfy our hunger for about 3 – 4 hours. When you're getting ready to go out somewhere that you know you'll be tempted by food, have a couple of fat free hot dogs without the buns before you go out. They will greatly reduce your desire to eat too much while you're out.

10. Eating in courses
Instead of serving all the food at dinner at once, serve it in courses. Have a nice salad first, eating it slowly to enjoy all the different flavors. Then serve the main course. Encourage talking while eating to slow things down. Finish off with a light dessert of fruit. By serving dinner in courses and trying to eat more slowly you will give your body time to actually register the fact that food has been ingested. This will give you a full feeling sooner, and help to keep you from over indulging.


(c)2005 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to mailto:teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Antioxidants are produced in the body, but often not in large enough quantities to offset free radical production. The vitamins C and E are stable antioxidants that help to rid the body of free radicals and can help stop the cascading effect that sometimes starts when free radicals are too abundant. It is a good idea to ingest foods that have vitamins C and E, or to take them in supplement form to assist the body in reducing the negative effects of free radicals.


To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to mailto:quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com
Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to fitness-after-50.com



Tom Manfredi, 1218 Easy St., Ste 101, Wickenburg, AZ 85390