Take a Good Look at Your Future

I reblogged this post from a website I read called no-brainerfitness.com. The author nailed this. Why can't more people see what they do to themselves?

TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT FUTURE YOU

Why don’t we exercise enough?

Is it because we are too lazy? Not disciplined enough? Unable to stay motivated?

If you’ve read my most recent post, you know those are essentially the questions we were left with at the end. Because we have all the evidence we need about why we should exercise.

If you’ve read anything else on this blog in the past, you know the answer is not in motivation or discipline, two strategies that will fail you eventually, or drive you (and many around you) nuts.

It is pretty clear that only the strongest Purpose can keep us going in the long term. Yet for most this sense of Purpose remains elusive.

So while it seems we have tendency to be lazy, the truth is slightly different. You could say we are “wired” to be lazy, to economize our efforts, and only the strongest of wills can hold firm on their self-commitments.

By the way, this is not a figment of my imagination, or some wild theory I just came up with. It comes from research in behavioural economics, which others could probably explain better than I can.

But I’m going to explain it to you in my own words. With the help of visuals from a really good talk I recently watched on YouTube. (Even if you think you don’t have time, if you are serious about understanding fitness and long-term health, you should be watching that talk. After reading this post.)

The Truth

Most of us have a strong discounting rate when it comes to our “Future Selves”. (That’s a term borrowed from economics, and it is highly accurate in meaning. However, most of us are not bankers and economists, thankfully. So…) To put it more simply, I hope, the problem is as follows: when you think about the way Future You will be, the possibility of a healthy and active Future You is not seen as important enough because it is too far into the future.

Even though you want to be healthy and fit (who doesn’t?), the Future You is too remote, too distant, too hard to see clearly. The present, and very near future, occupy all that your mind can really consider and act upon. No, I’m not saying we live only for the present, but we have a strong bias in favour of the short-term instead of the long-term.

Those of us who have a much stronger Purpose typically enjoy a stronger sense of that Future Self. In essence, to them it is easier to keep their eyes on the prize. (Back to our economics/finance terminology, a stronger sense of the Future You comes from having a much smaller discounting rate). In other words, a strong Purpose can be understood as considering the distant future as equally important, or even more important, than the present or near-future.

Let’s see how this works

Look again at the image at the top of this post.

You have two pictures of Future You: one that is healthy and fit, and one that is frail and, probably, suffering from some illness(es). The road to each Future You is a series of short-term actions, choices that happen everyday, with their specific consequences:

Two images of Future You…

Although there is no absolute certainly about the outcome, we know for sure what the odds are:

Take a good, hard look at those two Future You. Can you see them well? Which do you want to really be Future You? I bet I know.

So what happens? Why is it still not a complete no-brainer to exercise regularly?

Well, each of us considers those futures against the present. It is a decision process in which you pit Present You against Future You. At least in terms of enjoyment:

If the future appears not important enough, you are likely to pick doing nothing.

Conversely, if the Future You is clear enough, and important enough, your choice would be otherwise:

If Future You is “important” enough in your mind, you will act accordingly. Most of the time. Well, often enough.

That’s basically it. How well you can see Future You, and how you manage to keep Future You in mind on a daily basis, influences how you behave. How much you are eager to exercise regularly.

This works whether Future You is simply a healthy and active Old You, or an incredibly fit and muscular Two Years From Now You, or Winning A Race in 6 Months You. Future You is what you envision yourself to be like at some point in the future. Personally, the only Future You I think is truly worth having in mind, having as a Purpose, is Healthy And Active Old You. Which should make You exercise regularly, and in a reasonable way…

Future You, which becomes the source of your Purpose, is not the only contributing factor to exercising regularly, as we’ll see next time. But it is a necessary beginning. Without it, you must fall back on motivation, or worse, on discipline.

The good news is that you can improve how Future You influences Present You. You need to look at Future You regularly.

So keep a picture of Future You where you can take a good look at it everyday, just as you head out to exercise…

_____________

Image credits: All images in this post were shamelessly lifted from an excellent lecture given by Michele Belot, Professor of Economics and Director of the Behavioural Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh (BLUE), as the third lecture in the 2014 Our Changing World series, entitled “Behavioural Economics and Health Behaviours“. It is a really good lecture, about which I will talk again in my next post. And from which I will shamelessly lift more images.

About Fitness Trackers

These trackers are also called "activity monitors”, it depends on the manufacturer. If you make the decision to use a tracker, it’s important you wear it everyday and log in all the data it requires. Many people have a drawn full of these and never wear them or only wear them when they work-out. Using a monitor or tracker is a no-brainer for the dieter who is new at dieting or for someone who has little or no luck before with diets.

I like mine and I wear it 24/7 because it monitors my sleep, my diet and my activity. It helps me to stay focused. It’s a constant reminder when I’m working, to get up and walk around occasionally, when I’m watching TV that maybe I should be doing simple exercises during a commercial. And when I’m eating or ordering food that I have to watch what I eat. Yes, I enter all the info, but besides that it’s a constant reminder just being on my wrist that I’m trying to lose weight.  It keeps me from cheating. 

So yes, it works for me. Mine uses bluetooth to download info to my laptop so I can track the progress or the lack of. It let’s me know how I’m doing so I don’t have to be an exercise guru to know if I have to adjust my weight loss plan.

If you have trouble using your tracker don’t give up on it. You just need to learn how to use it better so you get your money’s worth and reach your goal.

I like the trackers that have a smartphone app to log in your meals and workout. The best way to use a food log is to log in your food before you eat. That stops me from eating more then I intended. I log in my meals for the day the night before and do it after dinner, when your not hungry. When you finish, check the total calories so you stay within your limit. 

Another thing I do is to only eat portions that I can find on the charts, and only eat the food that’s recommended. Pick a plan you can stick with. I stay away from fad diets. After a couple weeks, I’ve usually had enough. Pick a plan you can stick with for the long term. You probably know by now that making your own meals is best. This way you know that everything in your food is good and nutritious. When you’re trying to cut calories, you want everything you eat to give you nutrition and energy. It has to been foods that the body will use. If you can’t process what your eating it will go straight into the fat cells. You want the food you eat to be processed for energy. 

It's also easy to skip needless snacks and high calorie treats when you know that you have a satisfying, diet-friendly meal planned for later.

Some activity trackers don't come with a food log. If you want to lose weight, you need this feature. So connect your device with MyFitnessPal, CalorieCount or another food app to use the food diary features.

Some fitness tracker users wear their monitor during exercise so that the exercise steps count toward their daily step goal. That's not a bad idea. But it's a bad idea if you want to lose weight.

There are two ways that we burn extra calories throughout the day: exercise activity and non-exercise activity. To lose weight faster you need to maximize both of these numbers. That means you need to burn calories from exercise and calories from non-exercise steps.

Some fitness tracker users wear their monitor during exercise so that the exercise steps count toward their daily step goal. That's not a bad idea. But it's a bad idea if you want to lose weight.

There are two ways that we burn extra calories throughout the day: exercise activity and non-exercise activity. To lose weight faster you need to maximize both of these numbers. That means you need to burn calories from exercise and calories from non-exercise steps.

If you're not getting enough sleep, you may eat more the next day out of fatigue. Poor sleep can also reduce the number of calories you burn from activity throughout the day. If that is the case, and if you can make reasonable changes to get a better night's sleep then keep the sleep data in your dashboard. If not, then delete it and focus on the numbers that matter more. 

If you want to lose weight with an activity tracker, you need to wear it every day. That means you wear it even on your lazy days, your "off" days and days when you don't plan to follow any of your exercise or diet rules.  Those days matter more than your "on" days.

If you only gather information on the days when you're perfect, you'll never learn how to address the obstacles that stand in the way of your weight loss goals.

Some dieters find the comparisons to others to be intimidating.   Others find ways to cheat the system to become more competitive and "win" their challenge. 

Remember, your fitness tracker can only be useful if you gather accurate data and if you can use the data to change your behavior and lose weight. The data alone, the wristband alone and the app alone do nothing to help you lose weight. So pick and choose the information you use and make smart changes to reach your weight loss goals.

Some People Do Age Faster Than Others

HealthDay posts articles that I like to read. This one talks about the difference between your age on a regular calendar known as your Chronological age and your biological age which is the actual age of the parts of your body. Your body has no idea how old you are in terms of our calendar, but it does know what body functions you are using and which ones you don't need any longer. So if your not eating enough nutritional foods, the organs that need that nutrition will begin to fail. This is a very slow process that takes many years, because you are born with a stock pile of nutrition that your body will feed off of until your old enough to consume the nutrition you need. So the article explains how the lack of nutrition will cause organs to begin to fail and that's when disease will set in. This whole process of your body beginning to fail, we call the aging process. And because of the lack of nutrition at and early age, that process can start during a person's late 20's or early 30's.

At 38, the biology of some adults was 20 years older than their chronological age

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Alan Mozes

HealthDay Reporter

Adults who look older than their years may be aging at an accelerated pace, new research suggests.

A study of 38-year-olds in New Zealand found their "biological age" -- the state of their organs, immune system, heart health and chromosomes -- ranged from as young as 30 to as old as 60.

And the older their biological age, the older they looked, the researchers added.

"We looked at key markers for the integrity and health of different organs in the bodies of relatively young adults, in order to detect how their bodies were actually aging."

"What we found is a clear relationship between looking older on the outside and aging faster on the inside, And also that it's possible to measure the kind of aging process in young people that we usually only look for in old people."

For most young adults, biological age proceeds in sync with chronological age, the international research team found. But genetic and environmental influences can cause your biology to rack up signs of age much faster -- or much slower -- than your birth date might predict.

The study authors noted that by 2050 the population of men and women aged 80 and older will hit 400 million globally, more than triple the current number.

That trend, the researchers said, highlights the importance of finding ways to spot signs of aging early in life, to fashion therapies that can prolong healthy living by preventing the onset of age-related disease.

The study team focused on roughly 1,000 men and women who had been participating in an ongoing New Zealand study since their birth in 1972-1973.

In 2011, the participants, then 38, underwent tests of kidney function, liver function, lung capacity and metabolic and immune system strength. Cholesterol, blood pressure, dental status, eye structure and heart health were also assessed, as was the length of chromosomal caps known as telomeres. Telomeres are known to shorten with age.

The researchers found a variance of up to 30 years in the different participants' biological age, although all were still free of any age-related disease.

The team conducted a secondary analysis, comparing biomarker information collected in 2011 with information gathered six and 12 years earlier.

That showed that between ages 26 and 38 most participants aged at an equal biological pace. But some were gaining three biological years for every one chronological year. Still others had essentially stopped getting older, as their biological age was essentially on "pause."

What's more, the older their biological age, the worse they fared on physical and mental acuity tests.

The fast-agers showed worse balance and poorer motor coordination, and reported having more trouble with tasks such as climbing stairs or carrying groceries.

"This showed that already early in life we can see symptoms of advanced age in young people, symptoms that correspond to declining physical and cognitive function, long before age-related disease actually develops," Belsky said.

Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, a professor of geriatric and palliative medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, described the investigation as a "landmark" effort to better understand the aging process.

"If we can identify why some people have more rapid biological aging, it may be possible to intervene and reduce the risks of complications and diseases related to aging," said Leipzig, who was not involved in the study.

Belsky said the findings might propel scientists in a new direction. "This can help us as we start to come around to the idea that instead of trying to prevent individual illnesses like heart disease or cancer," he said, "we need to try to find ways to treat the common cause of all these things: aging."

Okay, that said I want to add a few things. The aging process causes disease and this increase in the aging process can be due to a poor diet and lack of exercise. Proper exercise increases the blood flow that your organs need and good nutrition which you get from a good diet will keep your organs healthy. All the pills in the world will not take the place of fresh food. 

Need Help With Weight Loss?

This is why most people give-up on losing weight. Most people who want to lose weight don't want to talk about it. Maybe their embarrassed. Maybe they think it's easy and they can do it. That's the typical attitude of someone who is try to lose for the first time. After trying several times and not being successful or put the weight back on, at that point most people will give up. The following article is about getting help for weight loss. It's just a matter of you realizing you need some professional help.

Help For Losing Weight

Is weight loss harder for you than it is for other people around you? Maybe you've watched friends and family members slim down with popular weight loss programs while you've seen no results at all with the same diet and exercise programs.  Are you just doomed to fail? No. In fact, a new study suggests that the lack of success may not be your fault.

A small study conducted by the National Institutes of Health found that weight loss is simply harder for some overweight patients.

Researchers said that “while behavioral factors such as adherence to diet affect weight loss to an extent, our study suggests we should consider a larger picture that includes individual physiology." In short, they said that since your body may be working against you, a personalized approach to weight loss may work best for you.

How to Get Personalized Weight Loss Help

Online weight loss programs and commercial diets work very well for some people. But those programs usually aren't customized specifically for you. You may need personalized weight loss help to slim down successfully and keep the weight off for good. A personalized approach should take into account your medical profile, your unique lifestyle, and even your emotional feelings about food. There are different ways that you can ask for weight loss help, depending on the type of support you need,

Medical Help For Weight Loss. Your best source of personalized weight loss help is your physician. Your primary care provider can tell you how your weight affects your health.

He or she can also explain to you how weight loss may improve your health.  For example, you may be able to decrease your risk of disease if you slim down. You may even be able to reduce or eliminate certain medications when you lose weight.

Your doctor is also a good place to get a recommendation for a registered dietitian (R.D.) or a physical therapist. An R.D. can create a personalized meal plan that takes your lifestyle into consideration. A physical therapist can work with you if you have mobility limitations to find exercise solutions. You can also talk to your doctor about weight loss surgery and prescription diet pills.

Social Help to Lose Weight.  Some commercial weight loss programs include social support as part of the program. For example, Weight Watchers provides meetings for their members where you gather with other dieters and a weight loss mentor to discuss challenges and successes. You may even be able to find a weight loss support community at your church or in your neighborhood. In addition to those sources, you can also build a personalized support network with friends, coworkers and family.

Emotional Weight Loss Help.  Food addiction can be the source of binge eating, overeating or emotional eating. Some behavioral health experts are trained to help you manage those concerns.  You can get a referral from your doctor, a registered dietitian, or you can find a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders through the American Psychological Association.

Remember, if weight loss feels unusually difficult, it probably is. Reach out and ask for the help that you need to build a personalized diet and exercise program for success.

The important thing is that you have the desire to lose weight. Just because you haven't found a good plan for you doesn't mean you can't lose weight. You have already taken the first step, the desire to lose, don't be discouraged that your plan hasn't worked. Consult an expert and start with your doctor. Even if he's not an expert, he may be able to refer you. Just explain about your budget and what your goal is. Remember that losing weight is more than just making the number on the scale go down. 

Is Your Diet Aging You?

This is a great post that we could all take advice from.

Simple strategies to keep you young, inside and out.

WebMD Feature

What you put on your plate might affect what you see in the mirror. But a few tweaks to your dining habits can go a long way to keeping your skin youthful and your body healthy.

The key approach? Eat better.

"Poor-quality foods, like trans fats, cause inflammation -- and aging is basically a chronic inflammatory state," says Timothy Harlan, MD. He's assistant professor of medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine. "Can you look older because you're eating crap? Absolutely."

For example, eating too much sugar and processed carbohydrates (like pasta, bread, and baked goods) can lead to damage in your skin's collagen, which keeps your skin springy and resists wrinkles, says Andrea Giancoli, MPH, RD. She's a policy analyst for Beach Cities Health District.

What's more, these foods put your overall health on the line. They are tied to diseases like heart disease and diabetes, she says.

Other foods, like fruits and vegetables, are good for your skin.

Foods to try and cut-out

Potato chips and french fries. Anything that's deep-fried in oil can add to inflammation throughout your body. Especially avoid trans fats. It can raise your LDL "bad" cholesterol and lower HDL "good" cholesterol, which increases your risk for heart disease.

Check food labels on baked goods and crackers, and avoid "partially hydrogenated oils" and "vegetable shortening."

Doughnuts and sugary pastries. They're packed with sugar, which Giancoli says may be linked to the development of wrinkles.

Hot dogs, bacon, and pepperoni. Processed meats are usually high in saturated fats and have nitrates in them. Both of those can lead to inflammation.

Fatty meats. These are also high in saturated fats. The key with meat is to keep it lean. Tenderloin cuts tend to be leaner. Look for ground beef that is at least 95% lean. Ground turkey breast and chicken breast are other lean options.

Alcohol. Moderate drinking may be good for your heart, but heavy drinking can rev up the aging process. "Moderate" is one drink per day for women (such as a 5-ounce glass of wine or 12-ounce glass of beer) and two drinks for men.

Foods to Favor

Go for a Mediterranean-style diet, Harlan says. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein can help fight inflammation and keep you looking your best, he says.

Eat whole foods that are closest to their natural state as possible, says Giancoli. For example, instead of apple sauce, try a fresh whole apple.

Try eating more of these foods:

Romaine lettuce. It's high in vitamins A and C, which curb inflammation. Also try broccoli, spinach, arugula, watercress, escarole, kale and endive.

Tomatoes. They're rich in a nutrient called lycopene. So are watermelon, grapefruit, guavas, asparagus, and red cabbage.

Salmon. It's high in omega-3 fats, which fight inflammation. Tuna is another good choice.

Lentils and beans. These are good sources of protein and are loaded with fiber and nutrients. Try black beans, split peas, limas, pintos, chickpeas, and cannellini beans.

"Your skin is essentially made of protein, so if you don't get enough healthy protein in your diet, your skin will reflect that," Giancoli says. "Along with fish, beans are a great way to get it."

Oatmeal. Whole grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, and quinoa help curb inflammation.

"These also have B vitamins in them, like thiamine and riboflavin, which are important for skin as well," Giancoli says. If you don't get enough. Go for a variety and make this way of eating a habit. Look at your food when your buying and think about what you'll get out of it. Your paying for the food, you want to get something back.

"If you're not getting enough of the good stuff on a regular basis, you won't be able to produce healthy new skin cells in the way that you should," Giancoli says. Eating the good stuff will give you the nutrition to stay healthy. If your not feeling healthy or your tired all the time, we often blame a cold or virus but the first thing we need to look at is our diet. 

I know this post talks a lot about your skin; and what most people don't realize is that your skin and your eyes will tell the story of your bodies health. Skin problems like ache or any sores or rashes can all be caused by your diet. Your eyes should be clear and white around the pupil. And if your using an eye wash everyday, maybe you should see a doctor, you might have a bigger problem.

Things that effect your weight

I found this post that really explains what the big differences 

are that determine a persons size and weight. This should 

clear up the myths that might have heard.

Genetic makeup can determine size and shape

 When we say "genetic makeup," we're talking about everything you inherited from your ancestors, from the color of your eyes or the shape of your toes to the way your brain works and the way your body stores fat.

Your genetic makeup has a very big effect on your weight. 

It affects: Your basal metabolic rate. That's the rate at which your body uses energy (calories) at rest. Some people are born with higher basic metabolic rates than others. These people naturally burn more calories than the rest of us. Regular physical activity can raise your metabolic rate. Very low-calorie diets will lower your metabolic rate. A lower metabolic rate makes it easier to gain weight, because you don't burn calories as fast. Your body signals, such as your appetite and feeling hungry or full. Some people have slim legs, some have heavy legs. You can't change where your body stores fat. Typically, men store fat in the abdomen while women store more in the hips and thighs. As women age, more fat is stored in the abdomen.

Nutrition—what and how you eat—also affects your weight

The average American meal contains too many calories. It also contains too much saturated fat, cholesterol, animal protein, salt, alcohol, and sugar.

It can be hard to make healthy food choices:

• Emotions and easy access to fast foods and snacks are among the many things that influence our food choices today.
• Lack of time leads many people to eat on an irregular schedule or skip meals. People who do that have more trouble staying at a healthy weight than people who eat regular meals.
• Sometimes a food that seems like a healthier choice may not be. A low-fat cookie may have less fat, but usually it is high in sugar and has the same number of calories as a regular cookie. Potato chips that are "cholesterol-free" may still be high in fat and calories.
• 
  

  
  

  Physical activity—how much you move—is the third

   factor that affects your weight

  Being physically active is an important part of staying at a healthy weight.

  • Regular activity helps you stay fit. When you're fit, you feel better and have more energy for work and for your family. When you're fit, you burn more calories, even when you're resting.
  • Even if you are overweight or obese, you will benefit from being more physically fit. Improving your fitness is good for your heart, lungs, bones, and joints. And it lowers your risk for heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancers. If you already have one or more of these problems, getting more fit may help you control other health problems and make you feel better.
  • Moderate activity is safe for most people, but it's always a good idea to talk to your doctor before you start an exercise program.

  
  

Apple Cider Vinegar and Health

By Joy Manning

WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

I like this article, I take this myself and I have no more trouble with acid reflux. What this doctor is talking about is unfiltered apple cider vinegar. And this stuff is concentrated. It's on the same shelf at the grocery store but it costs a lot more. If you surf the internet you'll find there's one brand that stands out and it's an organic product and even if you find another, remember you want the unfiltered stuff that's cloudy in the bottle and try to buy the organic. I use one tablespoon in a 12 once glass of bottled water. I drink it first think in the morning before I brush my teeth. Like lemon juice this will hurt the enamel on your teeth. It will also damage your kitchen counters, be careful. If you want talk to your doctored I wouldn't give this to kids. All vinegar is an alkaline and the idea is to neutralize over active stomach acid. Your body does that already but some people make too much stomach acid so the vinegar help to tone it down a little. It's important you dilute this a lot because you can burn your throat. 

Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

Have you heard that apple cider vinegar will help you lose weight? 

The only study to test the idea in people was done in Japan. In the study, 175 obese but healthy people took either vinegar or water daily for 12 weeks. Their diets were similar. They kept food journals. At the end of the study, those who used vinegar had lost slightly more weight. On average, the vinegar group lost 1-2 pounds over the 3-month period. They gained it all back after the study was over.

The researchers suggest that vinegar may turn on certain genes involved in breaking down fats.

The effect is probably very subtle, says Chicago dietitian Debbie Davis, RD. “It may have some benefits in terms of weight loss and weight management, but it is definitely not a quick fix." 

If you want to lose weight, you’ll still need to exercise and practice portion control.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Blood Sugar

While apple cider vinegar probably won’t make you skinny, it does appear to help with diabetes and blood sugar control.

Carol Johnston, PhD, directs Arizona State University’s nutrition program. She has been studying apple cider vinegar for more than 10 years and believes its effects on blood sugar are similar to certain medications.

“Apple cider vinegar’s anti-glycemic effect is very well documented,” Johnston says.

She explains that the vinegar blocks some of the digestion of starch. “It doesn’t block the starch 100%, but it definitely prevents at least some of that starch from being digested and raising your blood sugar,” Johnston says.

Not every expert feels as confident about apple cider vinegar’s power.

"Trying to use vinegar to treat diabetes is like trying to bail out a flooded basement with a teaspoon," says Michael Dansinger, MD, director of Tufts University’s diabetes lifestyle coaching program.

He advises patients to focus instead on their overall diets -- a strategy backed by a lot more research, he says.

If you have gastroparesis, a common problem with diabetes that slows stomach emptying, be careful. Early research shows apple cider vinegar may make this problem worse.

"I’m concerned that drinking vinegar, even diluted in water, increases acid in your system, which puts a strain on your kidneys and bones,” Dansinger says.

If you have diabetes and want to try apple cider vinegar, let your doctor know, and keep an eye on your blood sugar levels.

Johnston stresses that if you are on medication for diabetes, you shouldn’t stop taking it and substitute vinegar. If you're thinking about using it to help manage your blood sugar, talk to your doctor first.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Digestion

If you drink apple cider vinegar with a starchy meal, then the starches you don't digest will feed the good bacteria in your gut, Johnston says.

Davis recommends using unfiltered apple cider vinegar, “the cloudy kind, where you can see a blob in the bottle.”

That blob is known as “the mother,” and it’s full of probiotics and other beneficial bacteria. “This kind of vinegar can support immune function and, for some people, even help with constipation,” Davis says.

Tips on Taking Apple Cider Vinegar

Don't drink it straight. It’s so acidic that it could harm your tooth enamel and your esophagus.

Don't use a lot. “Dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons in a big glass of water, and sip it along with your meals one or two times a day,” Johnston says.