Entries for May 2009

When I wrote last week about motivation and exercise, I neglected one fantastic way to get yourself off the couch: working out for a cause or in honor of someone else. At the end of the day, whether you're doing the 10-week workout routine or training for a big event, you've got to put in the shoe leather yourself. But having someone or something else that keeps you going when your own willpower is fading is both useful and, in some cases, charitable.

In the simplest case, you can think of your family, friends, or other people you care about. (In the June issue of Runner ' s World, Kristin Armstrong writes about how she's dedicated prayers to different people for every mile of a marathon.) If you want to make it official, there are a ton of charity programs that allow you to compete in big, hard-to-get-into events as long as you raise a certain amount of money. Matthew Reeve, son of the actor Christopher Reeve, is starting his training for the New York Marathon in November; the 29-year-old will run to raise money for spinal cord injury research through the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation's Team Reeve. You can follow his training progress on his blog. I caught up with him for a chat about his efforts.

When I wrote recently about the complex topic of fiber, I got a few follow-up questions from readers. Here's one of the common ones, answered by Joanne Slavin, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota and author of the American Dietetic Association's 2008 position paper on dietary fiber. (Question and answer have been edited for clarity.)

What are the most effective sources of dietary fiber for those who are on gluten-free and lactose-free diets?

Beans and legumes would probably be the most effective. You might also consider cooked or stewed vegetables, which are easier to consume. Generally, fruits are low in fiber and relatively high in calories and sugar, so they're not a great fiber source.

[Here are 7 must-dos before you buy a functional food. Then be sure to read why some people are enthusiastic about probiotics. And check out this list of 17 yogurts that contain vitamin D.]

Here's a quick wrap-up of the latest fitness and diet buzz:

Yoga Classes for the Overweight

The New York Times reports that there's a new niche in the crowded yoga market: classes targeted at or limited to the overweight. These classes, with names like Buddha Body, MegaYoga, HeavyWeight Yoga, and Yoga for Round Bodies, are taught by instructors who are familiar with the exercise problems of the overweight and can help them get the most out of a class. Plus, the article says, these classes can be a haven for people not comfortable among the lithe bodies often found in regular yoga classes. Yoga classes are going from general to specific; earlier this year I wrote about yoga as a cross-training option for athletes.

For those of you who started our 10-week workout routine when we launched it five weeks ago, this is the week you should be adding more time to the aerobic component—either a fourth 30-minute workout a week or an extra 10 minutes tacked on to your sessions. But how, visitors have asked, do you motivate yourself to stay with an exercise program? Here are six tips.

• Find an activity you enjoy. Don't get caught up with what you think exercise should be; if you don't enjoy running or step classes, don't do them! Try walking, dancing, rowing, or whatever makes you happy. (Last fall, Lance Armstrong revealed what ultimately inspired his comeback: He missed biking for hours on end.)

• Tell yourself you have to work out for only 10 minutes. I had a revelation when I interviewed a pro triathlete a few years ago; she told me that she often dreaded her long bike rides ahead of time. We have this idea that getting out the door must be easy and natural for the people who exercise consistently, but in fact, even those people have days when they'd rather stay home. So sometimes, yes, you're going to have to suck it up and exercise anyway. But you can trick yourself by promising an out after a short time: Once you're warmed up, you'll very likely want to keep going.

This week we introduce the final element of the 10-week workout routine: equilibrium, or balance, exercises. You may have heard about balance exercises as a way for the elderly to ward off falls, but they're important for everyone, at every age, says Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon, author of Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at Any Age, and designer of our plan. Here's an edited version of our conversation about balance.

For almost all of us, there's at least one food that we can't help but overeat. For David Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (and foe of the tobacco industry), it was the dumplings in the food court of the San Francisco International Airport. His investigation into why otherwise sane, self-assured, competent people like himself lose their will in the face of dumplings, Chili's latest dessert concoction, or dark chocolate M&Ms encompassed the chemistry of modern food production and the newest discoveries of neuroscience. In The End of Overeating (Rodale, $25.95), he argues that the extraordinarily high levels of salt, fat, and sugar in the American diet reward our brains and thus encourage us to overeat. Here's an edited version of our conversation.

You said the idea for the book came from watching Oprah Winfrey's show?
Yes. Dr. Phil was on, talking to this woman, Sarah, who was highly educated, well dressed, and very successful in all aspects of her life. But she said, "I eat when I'm hungry. I eat when I'm not hungry. I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm sad. I don't like myself." I was sitting there trying to listen as a doctor, but I could also relate to what she was talking about from my own experience. I needed to understand what was driving her behavior.

What did you think about the causes of overeating before you wrote the book?
I didn't know. I knew it wasn't just a matter of diet and exercise, but I didn't understand it.

Here's a quick wrap-up of the latest fitness and diet buzz:

Quick Guide to Mickey D's
They're not all what you'd call health food, but there are lower-calorie choices available at McDonald's. FitSugar has a slide show of 5 items from the ubiquitous fast-food chain that weigh in at 300 or fewer calories. Not that you should have french fries for lunch every day, or even every week, but if you're stuck, keep these options in mind. And before you order a Coke with that, read about this recent proposal to tax sugary sodas and energy drinks.

What I s Natural, Anyway?
On her blog, Food Politics, New York University nutrition Prof. Marion Nestle questions how "natural" the new-ish sweetener stevia is. It's isolated from a plant, yes, but its aftertaste has caused food companies to have to fool around with the flavor. How much can you monkey with a food and still have it qualify as "natural"? That term, when applied to food, is one you should probably simply ignore, since it can be manipulated beyond belief. Is VitaminWater, which contains no fruit juice, a "natural" beverage? Here's more that you might not know about stevia.