Category: Health

The Biggest Loser Controversy – How We All Can Learn From It

THE BIGGEST LOSER -- Season: 17 -- Pictured: (l-r) Whitney Clark, Felicia Buffkin -- (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank) - The Biggest Loser Controversy by Certified Personal Trainer & Healthy Lifestyle Coach Jennifer Ledford

THE BIGGEST LOSER — Season: 17 — Pictured: (l-r) Whitney Clark, Felicia Buffkin — (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

The Biggest Loser has been a popular show for several years now.  Many people tune in to watch people transform their lives and find it inspiring.  I’m someone who loves to watch people succeed so I can totally understand why it’s been so popular.  However, the latest controversy regarding the contestants that have regained weight has the public asking some valid questions regarding weight loss and how the metabolism works.  As a trainer I am grateful that people are asking questions.

I have to be honest  I’ve always been a bit curious about the show’s weight loss methods.  I was concerned that the contestants were being overtrained and undernourished.  Please understand, this is not an “attack” on the show or the trainers.  The fitness industry is constantly evolving.  There was a time when it was thought that if you placed an extremely overweight person on a very low calorie diet their body would go into its “fat storage or reserves” to burn the extra fat and it would help them lose weight.  Current research shows us that if you want to lose weight and keep it off for good the opposite is true.  When the body is starved it will eventually go into “protection mode” and slow down the metabolism.  You need to eat food in order for your body to feel good about burning the calories.  This means a large person will need way more than eight hundred calories per day to safely lose weight long-term.  Especially if they are exercising.  A large person expends quite a few calories simply moving their body.

One of the reasons low-calorie and restrictive diets are so popular is the quick results they can deliver in the short-term.  The majority of diet plans are next to impossible to sustain for the long-term which is why it’s not a total surprise to me that some of the previous contestants have gained their weight back.  It does, however, make my heart ache for them.

Creating new habits and developing self control for the long haul are not always easy tasks and sometimes people fall off track.  That’s just a part of life and it can happen to anyone.  However, I also believe that it is important for fitness professionals to help clients develop a plan that will give the person the best chance to succeed for the long-term, not just one event.

Hollywood is a unique place.  People are paid to look a certain way for movies and remain camera-ready most of the time.  They are willing to train hard and sacrifice a lot because they get paid for it.  Some of them must stay on very rigid diets in order to remain a certain weight.  People admire the looks of celebrities for good reason and it’s enticing to want to do what they do to look like them.  However, once you find out what’s involved you may decide it’s not what you want, especially if you are not getting paid for it.  I think that may be what some of the contestants found out the hard way.  Fortunately, with the right information and proper guidance they can lose the weight again and keep it off for good.

Food is very personal.  What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another so I don’t believe in a “canned” approach when it comes to meal planning.  After twenty seven years of working in the fitness industry I’ve learned that the not-so-sexy approach of finding what works for you, eating well, exercising most days of the week, getting good sleep, drinking lots of water, limiting processed food, and cutting back on liquid calories is still one of the best ways to lose weight and keep it off for good.  The biggest challenge for most people is that losing weight without dieting requires consistency combined with patience.  It can take time to figure out what works best for your life.

An Important Lesson From The Biggest Loser

I believe that one of the most important lessons we can learn from The Biggest Loser is that losing weight and keeping it off for good really is about deciding what you want your life to look like and setting a realistic goal weight that you are able to sustain for the long-term.

Here’s to creating a happy and health lifestyle!

Shared with love,
Jennifer

 

Four Ways To Help You Stay Focused

iStock woman with list - focused

Does this sound familiar?  One minute you’re whizzing through your to do list, the next minute you’re watching cute puppy videos on Facebook or scrolling through your favorite retail store’s website. If it does, you are not alone.   A recent study by Microsoft revealed that the average attention span is eight seconds.  NO wonder it takes effort to stay focused.

Too many distractions can cause you to get behind on necessary tasks and deadlines.  Even the smallest of distractions can begin to add up and affect our lives in every area.  When you find yourself  playing catch up to finish the things that MUST be completed, it can begin to take away from your own personal time.  Based on my twenty seven years of experience as a personal trainer, I can confirm that exercise and preparing meals are usually some of the first things that get pushed onto the back burner when there is a time-crunch.  The good news is there are things you can do to limit distractions in your day and maintain your concentration.

How To Stay Focused

Here are a few tips on how to stay focused throughout your day and guard your precious time.

Take breaks.  Yes, breaks actually help you stay focused.  Give yourself a short break every thirty minutes.  Your body will thank you for it and taking a moment to stop and reactivate your goal can help you maintain your concentration.

Keep your cell phone ringer off while working on deadlines.  Technology is a wonderful thing and we all need to stay connected.  However, research is showing that receiving texts or phone calls can result in more mistakes during a computer task.  If you’re working on a deadline it’s a good idea to turn your phone to silent and then set a time when you will check your phone and return messages.  Keeping it on silent allows you to have it close by in the event of a true emergency.

Limit multitasking.  A recent study suggests that your brain can’t handle more than two big tasks at one time.  It can divide two tasks successfully but any more than that is too much for your mind to juggle.  Personally, I think it’s a good idea to experiment with multitasking.  Figure out what works for you.  You may be someone that performs best when you focus on one big task while passively performing another.  For example, driving while listening to an audio book is a great way to learn while commuting from one place to another.

Practice awareness.  If you notice your mind wandering off, take a pause from whatever it is you are doing at that very moment.  Whenever I’m supposed to be writing a blog post and find myself surfing Facebook, I look at the clock and check to see if it’s time to get up and move.  It usually is so I’ll get up and get some water, a snack, or even throw in a load of laundry.  During that time I’ll get my thoughts together and even give myself a little “focus pep talk” This helps me become more present in the moment and take back control of how I’m spending my time.  We all drift off from time to time; it’s being aware of it that helps us redirect our attention back to the task at hand.

When it comes to successfully completing tasks, focus and discipline are necessary ingredients.  No two lives are the same so I recommend you experiment with these tips and then figure out what works for you personally.

Here’s to being super productive and successful!

With Love,
Jennifer

Tone Up For Summer

Marching In A Bridge by Certified Personal Trainer Jennifer Ledford - Core Exercises - Tone Up

Do you want to tone up for summer and build a stronger core?  If so, I’ve got you covered.  🙂

The exercise video below features an advanced version of the bridge.  If you’ve been doing bridges for a while and they are getting easy for you, this exercise will help you take your core routine to the next level.  If you’re just getting started then I recommend you start with a basic bridge. If that’s you, then scroll down to the second video.  You can start there and then work your way up to the more advanced bridge.

Two of my favorite things about bridging exercises are you don’t need any equipment and you can pretty much do them anywhere.  That’s a winning combination when it comes to weaving exercise into your lifestyle.

Enjoy the videos and have a fun and fit week!

With Love,
Jennifer