Exercise-Induced Weight GAIN?
Jennifer McDaniel, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
mcdanielnutrition@gmail.com
You've been to the gym 5 days a week consistently for a month, and the scale hasn't budged. It's understandable that you're both frustrated and surprised with the lack of results. You've increased your exercise, so why aren't you losing weight? This month's Nutrition Connection addresses potential exercise "pitfalls" as well as strategies to make sure your eating and exercise habits are working together to achieve desired results!
Potential Exercise Pitfalls:
1) Eating is Easy, Exercise is LESS Easy. Most people would agree, it is "easier" to eat 100 calories than burn 100 calories through exercise! 100 calories adds up quickly when we grab a handful of M&M's from the secretary's candy bowl or finish the French fries off our child's plate compared to the work it takes to burn 100 calories in a 30-minute gym workout.
2) Exercise-Induced Appetite. For many, exercise will naturally increase your appetite to eat. Whether or not we are aware of this appetite surge, we often respond by serving ourselves more, or grabbing an additional snack. Unfortunately, these small increases in food intake undo the calorie deficit we aimed to create.
3) Over-Estimated Exercise. Don't let them fool you, that elliptical or on-line exercise calorie calculator almost always overestimates how many calories you burn. These tools typically do not obtain enough personalized information to give you an accurate calorie count. Even though more sophisticated tools such as Garmin or Polar watches are more precise, they still are likely to overestimate calories burned.
4) Entitlement. We've all said something of the following to ourselves at one time or another: "I can splurge on X because I trained for X minutes today."
Making the Most of Your Exercise
1) Do Exercise, Don't Diet. Exercising is a great way to lose weight because it doesn't slow your metabolism like cutting calories does. If you commit to a healthy balanced diet or make small calories cuts such as 100-200 calories per day, the weight should begin to come off. Significant calorie cutting has been shown to slow metabolism and therefore makes it both hard to lose and keep weight off.
2) Incorporate Interval Training. Interval training is a type of training that integrates short bursts of increased intensity into your workout. As example, instead of walking at a constant speed of 3.5 mph on the treadmill for 4 miles, incorporate short bursts of jogging or faster walking at 5.0 mph every 5 minutes or so. Interval bursts can be incorporated into any type of exercise and will cause you to burn more calories and become stronger.
3) Find Your Filler-UP Foods. Certain food calories fill us up more than others. Forty calories of broccoli are much more filling than 40 calories of chips. Figure out what foods fill you up. A simple eating strategy to use called the "plate method," recommends that ½ your plate be filled with fiber-rich vegetables (i.e.: broccoli, spinach, zucchini), ¼ with lean protein (i.e.: chicken, fish, soy), and ¼ with a fiber-rich grain or starchy vegetable (i.e.: brown rice, quinoa*, sweet potato). A well-designed plate such as this, is not only satisfying, but also helps manage calories.
*see recipe below
4) Re-direct Your Focus: If you find yourself slaving over the elliptical machine or dragging yourself to Zumba class just for the sake of burning calories, pick another mode of exercise. Commit to physical activity that you will enjoy and look forward to doing. Choose to train for an event with a meaningful cause to you, such a 10K race, and surround yourself with others who enjoy and share similar goals.
5) Move Beyond the Numbers. Focus on other benefits of exercise beyond calories or your weight on the scale. Monitor body fat and muscle mass changes by having your body composition tested. Commend yourself on the new definition you notice in your arms, or the smaller pant size you fit into. Enjoy increased energy and/or better sleep. These are all worthy benefits of a commitment to being more active.
Continue to be patient with yourself and realize that long-term weight loss is a journey. Enjoy the process and the exercise that gets you there.
Quinoa with Dried Cherries and Pistachios
You can serve this herby, fruity side at room temperature or chilled.
YIELD: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups uncooked quinoa
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 cups water
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dried sweet cherries, chopped
1/2 cup dry-roasted pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
1. Rinse and drain quinoa. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Add 2 cups water, wine, and salt to pan; bring to a boil. Add quinoa; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Remove from heat; set aside, and cool slightly.
2. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add quinoa, cherries, and remaining ingredients; toss gently to combine.
Nutritional Information, Amount per serving:
Calories: 256; Fat: 10.3g; Saturated fat: 1.3g; Monounsaturated fat: 5.8g; Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g; Protein: 7.6g; Carbohydrate: 34g; Fiber: 4.3g; Cholesterol: 0.0mg; Iron: 2.4mg; Sodium: 184mg; Calcium: 38mg
Source: Cooking Light DECEMBER 2010