I have talked before about how much I admire Dr. Oz, and this month he is on the cover of AARP magazine. Here is the link to the cover story, (one tidbit I found interesting – Oprah was a guest on a Dr. Oz show before he was a guest on the Oprah show!), but I just want to talk briefly about his six-month plan to get people healthy.

The six-month plan, developed in cooperation with AARP, focuses on a different aspect of your health each month. Here is the link to the plan, and listed below are the focus areas for each of the six month:

• month 1 – your diet makeover
• month 2 – your numbers
• month 3 – ramp up your exercise
• month 4 – manage your stress
• months 5 and 6 – getting started

He also offers what he refers to as the “daily checklist”, activities and habits that should be performed every day:

• Walk 30 minutes
• Brush and floss
• Drink two cups of green tea
• Take 400mg of DHA omega-3s, 1,000 IU vitamin D, and 1,000mg calcium
• Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night
• Meditate for 5 minutes

I like Dr. Oz’ common sense approach to becoming a healthier you. As Gabi Redford, editor for AARP magazine, notes “Dr. Oz’ program is very gentle, very basic for someone who is starting out and not terribly healthy to begin with. At the end of six months, if you can do all of these things, follow the diet, ramp up exercise, manage stress, we guarantee that blood pressure, healthy cholesterol, and blood sugar, will improve.”

While I certainly agree that it is important to start with a basic, gentle approach, it is important to keep moving your fitness and health to the next level. According to Dr. Wojtek J. Chodzko-Zajko, an expert with the American College of Sports Medicine, once an individual reaches basic goals, such as those outlined in Dr. Oz’ program, the next step is to “… work with a professional to develop a customized program, just like they have a personalized retirement plan that fits into their economic reality.” Although people plan for their economic future and their employment future, “they don’t think about how they’re going to take care of their bodies in order to enjoy their future.” he added.

We could not have said it better ourselves, and that is what we do at Fitness Together – create customized training programs for each individual, tailored to their specific goals and abilities. We help plan your body for a healthy future.

And finally, I wanted to share an interesting story from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal – A Case for Those Extra 10 Pounds. Some new research shows that being a little overweight doesn’t increase health risks. And there may be some benefits. Recent findings include:

• People who are slightly overweight are no more likely than those of normal weight to die from cancer or cardiovascular disease.
• During a 10-year time span, there was a reduced risk of dying for people in their 70s who were slightly overweight compared to those of normal weight.
• Doctors who study osteoporosis say a little extra weight may help strengthen bones.
• As they age, women who are slightly overweight often look younger than other women.

And so while I agree it is not worth stressing over an extra few pounds (Dr. Oz certainly would not approve of such worrying!), one of the key points to remember is to not let those few extra pounds keep creeping up on you, and before you know it, 10 pounds turns into 30, at which point the benefits of a few extra pounds begin to disappear, and the risks begin to accumulate.

To your health and happiness,

I just got back from an enjoyable and informative cooking demonstration by Christina Pirello, a Philadelphia native and Emmy Award-winning host of the national public television series ‘Christina Cooks’. The event was sponsored by Whole Foods in Devon, and hosted by Burlap and Bean Coffee Shop.

I must admit I have never seen Christina’s show, but it was obvious that she loves what she does, and so her success is no surprise. I also liked her approach to food and nutrition, as well as her commitment to wanting to make the world a better place.

During her cooking demo, she made the following (click on the links for the recipes):

* black bean coffee chile
* a simple baby spinach salad
* brownies with macadamia nuts

All three items were delicious, and seemed relatively easy to prepare. I’d highly recommend you check out Christina’s web site to read her inspirational story and find over 200 recipes.

In addition to her TV show, Christina has written five books, is planning a radio show, and will be coming out with a children’s TV show this Fall. She has also started a Health Education Initiative dedicated to “changing our quality of life by changing the way we eat, one meal at a time, through education, understanding, and action.” Christina is obviously someone who is committed to her cause, and one which I readily support.

So thank you to Whole Foods Devon and Burlap & Bean for putting on this event, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are looking for a healthier way to eat, I highly recommend you take a closer look at what Christina has to offer!

To your health and happiness,

I was stunned, to say the least, after reading one of Tara Parker-Hope’s columns in the New York Times this past week. Usually I enjoy what she has to say, but the headline and overall message of her recent article “Eating Vegetables Doesn’t Stop Cancer” are just downright misleading.

When I read her opening sentence – “A major study tracking the eating habits of 478,000 Europeans suggests that consuming lots of fruits and vegetables has little if any effect on preventing cancer” – I was quite surprised, since that is certainly not what I have read.

So I kept reading, and I came across the following comment: “…eating more vegetables was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in cancer risk. The data translates into a 4 percent lower risk of cancer for every two extra servings of vegetables a day a person eats.”

What???? That last sentence seems to contradict the title of the article and her opening sentence!! You can’t have it both ways – a headline that says “”Eating Vegetables Doesn’t Stop Cancer”, when the actual results of the study indicate that “eating more vegetables was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in cancer risk.” I’m not really sure what message Tara is trying to get across. I certainly encourage you to read the article.

The article certainly generated a great deal of debate – it has more comments than any other Health article written in the past week, and many of the comments are challenging Tara’s overall message. One of the more interesting comments includes a calculation showing that even “just” a 4% reduction in cancer risk translates to 1.2 million people in the United States alone!

In Tara’s defense she does point out that despite what she considers the bad news about the link between vegetables and cancer, that “… a number of studies show that high vegetable consumption is associated with lower risk for cardiovascular disease.”

So to me, the advice I always give still stands – it’s hard to go wrong by eating more fruits and vegetables.

To your health and happiness…

Over the past few years I have written several times about the many benefits of strength training, and how it should be a key part of everyone’s fitness program (along with cardio, flexibility, and a sound nutrition program). However, many people, particularly women, tend to just concentrate on the cardio aspect of their fitness. And even if they do incorporate some strength training, they prefer using relatively light weights with high repetitions so they can “tone up”, not “bulk up”.

We have addressed this issue/myth with our clients in the past, but now I can also point you to a recent New York Times article, “The Claim: For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat“. The article points out that the theory behind using lighter weights along with higher reps as a way to “tone up” and “slim down” is not supported by science.

The author cites several research studies which highlight the value of using heavier weights as a more effective way of accomplishing your health and fitness objectives. So whether your goal is weight loss,
body recomposition, increased strength, or increasing your metabolism, the author’s bottom line recommendation is “fewer reps and more challenging weights”. Or put another way, to lose weight, try adding some weight!

To your health and happiness…