Strickland Fitness

Fall is officially here and although the weather's still giving us sunshine in many states, colder temperatures will soon be here. With the weather changes come the shorter daylight as well, which leads many to curb their workouts. Here's a good video on some tips to get in gear for Fall and stay motivated for your workouts. – Best, Cad

Okay, so maybe a treadmill desk (as I posted about here) may not be realistic for your lifestyle, but check out this video for a few other fitness gadgets that could help you reach your workout goals. Use technology at its finest, especially when it's for your health. – Best, Chad

There's really nothing like checking out the different fruits and vegetables at a Farmer's Market or even your favorite grocery/natural food's store. The colors, the textures, the way you feel healthier just by looking at them. Well, eating them will probably make you healthier, so instead of just admiring, why not make an effort to permanently add more fruits and veggies to your diet? Here's a short piece on how doing so could help folks keep the pounds away for good. – Best, Chad

By Mary MacVean /Los Angeles Times

Some new research tried to figure out what might help post-menopausal women achieve long-term weight loss. And it turns out that adding produce to their diet didn’t show up as especially helpful in the short term, but in the long term it mattered.

The researchers didn’t find that eating fried chicken was just fine as long as it came with a side of broccoli. What they found was that some behaviors are hard to maintain forever, and adding produce might be easier than avoiding all fried foods for the long haul.

“People are so motivated when they start a weight-loss program. You can say, ‘I’m never going to eat another piece of pie,’ and you see the pounds coming off,” Bethany Barone Gibbs, the lead investigator, said in a statement. “Eating fruits and vegetables may not make as big a difference in your caloric intake. But that small change can build up and give you a better long-term result, because it’s not as hard to do as giving up French fries forever.”

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, looked at overweight post-menopausal women.

Barone Gibbs, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh department of health and physical activity, said several factors work against long-term weight loss.

“Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you’ve lost weight,” she says.

For older women, the additional decline in energy expenditure makes maintaining weight loss even tougher. Traditional behavioral treatments for obesity, focused on calories, have had poor long-term results.

A group of 508 women from the Pittsburgh area were divided into two, one group of which met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists to reduce fat and caloric intake, eat more produce and grains and exercise regularly.The second group was offered some general health seminars.

The researchers looked at what happened after six months and after four years. At four years, most of the intervention group had lost some weight, compared with about a third of the other group. Barone Gibbs noted that the women all had wanted to lose weight and sought help.

For the six-month mark, the researchers found that weight loss was associated with eating fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish and eating out less.

At the four-year mark, some of those things still mattered. But eating more produce and less meat and cheese emerged as important predictors of long-term weight loss.

“If the goal is to decrease the burden of obesity, the focus must be on long-term strategies because changes in eating behaviors only associated with short-term weight loss are likely ineffective and/or not sustainable,” the researchers wrote.

Restaurant visits went down for women who lost weight and those who did not; the researchers speculated the economy – not the study – was the cause.

Let's get real – these treadmill desks are not the most economical way to get fit. It would definitely be cheaper to just take a 15 minute break from work, get up from your desk and take a walk around the block. But, if you do have the extra funds and like those many who practically live on their desks, then this could work for you. If you've ever been curious about these treadmill desks, please watch this product review and share with others. – Best, Chad

I posted a video that listed some great fitness gear when traveling for vacation or work last week and I thought this would be a good follow-up. This is a list of 10 health and fitness tips for busy entrepreneurs from former Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels. Although it's aimed at "busy entrepreneurs", these tips can work for everyone. Please share and comment. – Best, Chad

By Ilya Pozin

Finding the time to stay healthy and in shape can be difficult for anyone. But when you’re an entrepreneur who’s work seems to follow you around everywhere, it’s a task that seems nearly impossible. As business owners, it’s easy to forget that you have to take care of yourself too. Just like your business, your body needs care and attention in order to properly function. Leading a healthy lifestyle will benefit both you and your business in the long run as healthy people tend to be happier and more productive.

I recently spoke with Jillian Michaels, bestselling author, television personality, advocate and entrepreneur. Her latest DVD, Jillian Michaels Killer Abs, will be released in September 2012. Here are her tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a busy schedule:

1) When traveling, to maintain your exercise regimen try the following: Pick a hotel that has a gym, but if that’s not possible buy a guest pass at a local gym for a nominal fee. Also, travel with resistance tubing. It’s cheap, light weight and in conjunction with your own body weight resistance you can get a thourough full body workout even in the smallest of hotel rooms.

2) If you have the means, consider a healthy meal-delivery program. This takes all the guesswork out of weight loss & weight management. A great, fresh, gourmet, national, calorie-controlled, food-delivery program is Freshology.  Freshology has gotten me through the busiest days and the craziest schedules without gaining a pound. They will even deliver to at a hotel which allows you to stay trim when on the road.

3) Sleep. Find a way to get more of it!  Sleep will not only help you trim down your waistline but it will enhance your overall health exponentially. Schedule in sleep hours like you would schedule important meetings and prioritize it. Do not compromise sleep. 7-8 hours a night is ideal. You’ll notice that you not only feel better, but you will perform better at work.

4) Creating time for exercise with your busy schedule is crucial to maintain a healthy body and a sharp mind. Try to block out a minimum of four 30 – 60 (minute) exercise sessions a week. What I do is get one session in on the weekend, one session in on the lunch hour, one in the morning before work, and one in early evening after work.

5) Multitask. Although this is not ideal, I have been guilty of it many times and for busy people it can be a necessary evil.

-Carry on business conversations while you’re climbing stairs on the StairMaster.

-Answer e-mails while peddling away on the bike.

-Read or dictate business proposals and briefs while you’re busting it on the treadmill. You get the idea.

6) Motivation. Often with ambitious business people, fitness can fall by the wayside. You must appreciate the transcendent power and effect of physical health and strength on your personal and professional affluence and wellness. In order to make and keep your physical health a top priority write down all the benefits fitness will provide in all facets of your life. From boosting confidence, to increasing energy, to rocking a power suit. Whatever your reasons, post them around your home and office then refer to them when you feel like skipping out on your workout.

7) Find creative ways of getting more activity while you’re working. For example: wear a headset and pace while on conference calls.  Standing burns twice as many calories as sitting. Also, try the obvious clichés – deliver email messages to coworkers in person, take the stairs not the elevator, get up from your desk and stretch every hour on the hour. Although this is no substitute for a regular exercise regimen, it’s better than nothing at all.

8) Business lunch and dinners can be a tremendous threat to your weight-loss or weight-management regimen. Here are a few strategies to help get you through:

Pick a healthier restaurant so, at the very least, you’ll have low-calorie options.

Schedule business dinners earlier in the day to avoid consuming high-calorie meals right before bedtime. In addition, an earlier meal is lends itself less to cocktails which will save you tons of calories.  Also, If you’re imbibing, choose alcoholic beverages without high-calorie mixers like vodka/soda water, a glass of wine, tequila on the rocks or a martini.

9) Never compromise your regular check ups. Early detection is key in the prevention of nearly every medical condition, from heart disease to cancer to bone loss. Make sure your assistant schedules these appointments in your calendar in pen.

10) As a professional you should truly appreciate the importance of this message: Knowledge is power. Educate yourself on calorie counting and label reading so you can make informed choices that effect powerful results and positive change. I suggest a calorie-counting app on your phone or a $6.00 pocket calorie counter that you can travel with anywhere and everywhere.