2010 July | Health & Wellness | fitGLOSS

Fat By Any Other Name

doctors 300x198 Fat By Any Other Name We’ve all heard the phrase ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Anne Milton, England’s Public Health Minister seems to think calling fat by any other name makes it lose its impact. Milton is suggesting that doctors in the UK stop using the word ‘obese’ and just tell patients they’re fat in hopes that it will increase personal responsibility.

The word ‘obesity’ does have more of a medical ring to it, while ‘fat’ sounds harsher and cruder. But can a word really be the difference between letting weight go and taking control? While the impact of word choice is up for debate, weight loss advice from doctors is important. Sadly, the 2009 National Healthcare Disparities Report (PDF) shows that many US patients never hear about weight from their doctor.

Personally — while it wouldn’t be fun to have a doctor call me fat — I don’t have any issue with calling a spade a spade. There’s something to be said for being honest and forthright. But I think we’d be better off encouraging doctors to talk to patients about healthy lifestyle habits in any way they see fit, without encouraging name-calling.

Gloss Find: Workouts To Go

Free3 nano 232x300 Gloss Find: Workouts To Go I never leave home with out my iPod and it’s the sole device that gets me through my workout – thanks to the eight-GBs of songs I downloaded that meet all of my rock star moods! Addicted to your iPod too?

Prevention magazine has developed Workouts To Go for the iPod so you can take your fitness routine anywhere – from the gym to the road.

They have three free downloads – my favorite being the 10-Minute Total Body Sculpting – and countless other downloadable and printable workouts for only $5 each. It’s like having a personal trainer at your finger tips.

Prevention Workouts To Go – $5 each – prevention.com

Gloss Find: Designer Workout Apparel

Armani Athletic Gear 300x88 Gloss Find: Designer Workout Apparel I don’t know about you, but I love splurging on designer items once in a while and sample sales are my BFF. However, when I found out Armani was collaborating with Reebok to make workout gear I didn’t find myself foaming at the mouth like I do when I stare in the window of Christian Louboutin. There’s something about sweat and expensive clothing that doesn’t sound appealing to me.

Then again, there are plenty of people who cannot wait to say they wear Armani to the gym – more power to them. Available in late August, the Reebok X Emporio line will consist of four athletic shoes and the Reebok X EA7 will include two styles of sneakers and a line of athletic clothing.

“Today sportswear and active wear have become really important parts of our wardrobes. I wanted to offer my customers the possibility of wearing sports clothes that were stylish and comfortable. My new alliance with Reebok is a natural consequence of this philosophy,” said Giorgio Armani.

Would you dish out the cash for designer gym wear?

Reebok X Emporio – $275-$450 – reebok.com

Reebok X EA7 – shoes $150-$165, apparel $65-$195 – reebok.com

Hourglass In, Airbrushing Out

ralphlauren Hourglass In, Airbrushing Out Lynne Featherstone, the new British Equalities Minister is taking a stand against unrealistic images of women. Featherstone thinks we should aspire for hourglass figures instead of the rail-thin, heavily airbrushed images we’re often presented with in magazines. Featherstone points to Mad Men’s ridiculously sexy Christina Hendricks as a role model for the hourglass-figure-inclined.

Featherstone told the Daily Mail that images of overly thin women and airbrushed celebrities pose a “significant risk to the physical and mental health of young people.” She plans to encourage magazine editors not to use excessively skinny models and to label airbrushed images with a health warning.

What do you think? Personally, I don’t think we should emulate super-skinny models or Christina Hendricks. I think we should each aim for a healthy weight and frame that’s appropriate for our body type. But, for many women, it’s not that easy. Sometimes what we see in the mirror isn’t really the truth. We have a tendency to zero in on our self-perceived flaws and ignore all of our beautiful qualities. Developing a positive body image takes practice. Womenshealth.gov has some great tips for learning to love yourself… just as you are.

Gloss Facts: The Truth About Sweat

sweat2 300x225 Gloss Facts: The Truth About Sweat The temperature has been soaring where I live and outdoor exercise is becoming a bit of a sticky, sweaty experience. As pretty as it isn’t, I’ve never minded sweating during exercise. After all, sweating means you’re really giving your body a great work out.

Or does it? See if you know the truth about sweat:

- You sweat all the time. That’s true! Small amounts of sweat release from glands all over our body to help us regulate our body temperature.

- You burn more calories when it’s hot out. That’s true! Your heart has to work a bit harder to keep your muscles oxygenated and to send blood to the surface of your skin to aid in temperature regulation. The extra calorie burn is negligible, though.

- Sunblock prevents you from sweating. That’s a myth. Sunblock has no effect on your body’s ability to sweat. In fact, it’s important to reapply sunblock (even the “sweat proof” kinds) when you’ve been out in the sun for a while because sweat can wash some of it away.

- Sports drinks make a difference. True … kind of. Sports drinks do replace some of the electrolytes you lose through sweat. But unless you’re participating in strenuous, endurance activities water is really all you need for hydration. If you are choosing a sports drink, be sure to opt for a low-calorie one.

Check out the rest of the sweat myths on Shape Magazine.

Boost Your Body Image

SCLY 2 Boost Your Body Image There are days when I feel all-around good about my body and in my clothes — and don’t even mind being in a bikini. Then there are the days – the dreaded days – where I look in the mirror and can’t stand what I see. Nothing I try on looks good and I make myself feel so horrible that I end up being in a bad mood for the rest of the day. It’s amazing what your body image can do to your mood.

When it comes to body image, it doesn’t matter what others see or what kind of compliments you receive from outsiders, the only eyes that truly matter are yours and that voice inside your head is the only one that counts. Therefore, it’s important to be able to boost your own body image so you can feel confident and look at yourself the way others see you.

Besides changing your attitude, start doing yoga. In a study published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly, researchers found that women who did yoga were more satisfied with their appearance than those who only did aerobic exercises or didn’t work out at all. Yoga helps to tone and lengthen the muscles so this isn’t surprising. The study also found that most of these women participated in other forms of exercise throughout the week and were body confident.

Since yoga connects the mind, body and spirit, you leave a class feel physically and mentally conditioned. Next time you’re feeling a little less than body confident, hit the mat. Feeling good about yourself pays off — and it shows on the outside!

Move More, Live Longer

bikefamily Move More, Live Longer Just do the math: almost eight hours of sitting at the office each day plus 1/2 hour sitting with the family during dinner and then an hour or two sitting around during the evening. That’s a lot of time spent on our butts. New research shows that if we would just get up and move more, we might live longer.

The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, followed more than 120,000 American adults. Researchers discovered that the more we veg, the shorter our life spans. What’s surprising is that the sedentary lifestyle/shorter life span correlation remained even after researchers removed other contributing factors such as obesity. After adjusting for things like obesity and smoking), women who sat for around six hours a day had a 37 percent increased risk of dying. For men, the risk rose 17 percent.

Other than obesity and related conditions, researchers aren’t positive why the link between inactivity and mortality risk exists. One theory states that resting muscles change hormone levels which can then contribute to cholesterol and other heart-related issues.

So what do you do? Move!

- Be an early bird. Start your morning with exercise. Nobody likes to set their alarm earlier than they have to, but even 20 minutes of activity in the morning will energize you for your day. Take the dog for a walk, follow an exercise DVD or make a quick stop at the gym.

- Break it up. Break up your workday with bouts of activity. Standing up for a minute or two and stretching will move your muscles and won’t pull you from your work for long. And take advantage of lunch breaks to go for a walk.

- Participate. Don’t sit and idly watch while your kids are at sports practice … take the time to move. You can volunteer to help coach or you can walk around the park or field.

- Family time. Does your family usually leave the dinner table and go their separate ways. Try instituting some after dinner family time — the dishes can wait … really. Go for a bike ride together or play a game of soccer in the backyard.

- Commercial non-breaks. Do you enjoy some downtime in front of the TV during the evening? No problem! But make a point to get up and move during the commercial breaks. Simply standing up and straightening the living room or going to get a glass of water will break up the inactivity.

Fit Tip of the Day: X Marks the Fitness Spot

Good habits are hard to form. And bad habits have a way of slipping silently back in if you’re not careful. You can be working hard and exercising every day. Then the one day comes by when you don’t fit in a work out. Instead of keeping up your momentum, that one day can cause you to slowly lose grip on your active lifestyle.

If you’re new to a fitness routine, be on guard for the creeping crawling entrance of old, bad habits. There’s a simple trick to help you stay motivated — each day that you exercise, cross off the day with an X on your calendar. The visual reminder will show you just how often you’re working out. And there’s no way to fool yourself that you’re being more active than you usually are.

To make it more motivating, don’t stop with the simple X. Set a monthly goal for yourself and reward yourself if you achieve it. For example, set a goal to be active at least 25 days out of the month. If you reach your goal, reward yourself with a special “prize” that’s in keeping with your new healthy lifestyle — a massage, a new workout DVD or a healthy-eating cookbook.