Nutrition and Fitness Professional, LLC

Weight Loss Counseling, Vegetarian, Vegan, & Sports Nutrition, plus Fitness Training Services and Body Fat Assessments

Posts Tagged getting results

17 Reasons People Eat

Mar 29

Posted by Joey Gochnour, BS, BS, MEd, RDN, CSSD, CSOWM, LD, NASM-CPT in Personal Experiences and Opinions | No Comments

Some people prefer calorie counting, others like the hand portion size approach, and others like intuitive eating.  It is also myopic to think that people are overeating meat portions, vegetable portion sizes, and grain portion sizes as opposed to junk food portion sizes and alcohol.  Sure, it can happen, in a few cases, I guess.

Believe it or not, in nutrition counseling, I DON’T spend time educating people on the fact that one cup of broccoli equals one serving.  Most people aren’t overweight from eating solid, nutritiously balanced meals of real food, and many who aren’t overweight aren’t using calorie counting or use hand portion methods.

These are what I find are 17 reasons people eat.  The summary is that they are not hungry.  Never fear, there are not clickbait ads you have to scroll through a slide show to scan through all of these!

  1. Eating to socialize with others.
  2. Eating to avoid talking with others.  Social anxieties are common, and food is comforting as well as something to look like you are doing something.
  3. Eating when drinking alcohol.  It’s just something you do.  Some people smoke here, too.
  4. Eating when watching TV because you eat when you watch TV.  That’s just something you do.
  5. It is someone’s birthday at work (when is it not?) and there is cake.  You wouldn’t want to be disrespectful of their birthday, now would you?
  6. Becky/Mom/Grandma/Chad made cookies for you.  You’ll hurt her/his feelings if you don’t have them NOW and show how much you appreciate their effort.
  7. It’s a holiday.  Don’t be a party pooper by not eating with us.
  8. It’s time to eat.  It is 12p.  I must consume food now because it is “lunch time.”
  9. It’s after 7p.  I am not allowed to eat (and may feel guilty doing so), but I’m going to rebel against whoever made this rule (I don’t support this rule) and eat something off the record because I can.  Who are you, my mother?  I’ll eat whatever I want!
  10. Being told you cannot have something to eat, like a poptart, is a good reason to go have it and get off on your feeling of rebellion.  You showed them!
  11. Fear of not having food for a long period of time, so better eat more now.
  12. Overeating when starving.
  13. You worked out, so you deserve food now.
  14. You worked out and have been told there is a scientific yet magic 30 minute window of opportunity during which you will not benefit from any of your workout unless you eat now to avoid going all “catabolic.”
  15. Because you are emotionally drained, you eat in hopes it will give you energy.
  16. It tastes good and is pleasurable.  You want more of it.
  17. Because you are actually hungry and need the nutrition.

If I missed any, please add your non-nutritive reasons you eat in the comments.



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Women’s Body Image: Calorie Restriction, Strength Training, & Weight Loss

Mar 23

Posted by Joey Gochnour, BS, BS, MEd, RDN, CSSD, CSOWM, LD, NASM-CPT in Diet or Exercise?, Personal Experiences and Opinions | No Comments

I get to work with a lot of women who want to lose weight on the fitness side as a personal trainer and on the nutrition side as a registered dietitian.  Most women who come in to “lose weight” really just want to change their body composition, and it is interesting to see whether people think it is their eating habits or their exercise program that will do that for them.

While I do assess whether they are actually overweight or not through a variety of different assessment parameters, weight loss often tends to reinforce a body image that is inaccurate for women in society, especially if they are not truly overweight.  That gets us to the methodology.

Restricting to maintain a light frame is not healthy because it is an unrealistic healthy body.  It is really just nutrient deprived and fitness deprived, especially as you age and are no longer able to maintain an idealized adolescent and thin teenage body that many women think is healthy.

Colleagues who work in eating disorders have found out that letting these women who really aren’t overweight or have health issues due to their weight actually attempt to lose weight is not helpful even if done in “a healthy way” because it reinforces anorexic psychology and behaviors.

I find this valuable information because often times, my belief has been that “hey, you can try it, but you won’t like the outcome when you get there because it won’t be the body type you are looking for anyway and are probably going to gain the weight back again without any change in overall fitness ability.”  Unfortunately, people are going to do what they want.

If they try to diet and weight comes back, I figure it is a learning experience because many men and women are determined to do what they’re going to do anyway.  Why be resistant?  Why not teach them to do it in a healthier way to reduce the risk of malnutrition and let them learn from the experience?

This is only for women who are slightly overweight according to some of the traditional weight assessments.  If they are clearly underweight or normal weight, I don’t help them on that restriction.  It is unethical.

What I find many women are often saying, is something like “I don’t like my body” or “I don’t feel sexy in my body,” and they are focusing on WEIGHT only as the only measure of that.
 
First of all, feeling sexy has to do with a lot of things, including having self esteem.  It is not just physiology and body composition.  Working with a qualified psychotherapist (I know a few good ones) often helps you figure out what to focus on and what is important.  Sometimes, a weight obsession is really tangent to something deeper.
 
Having worked with many women who come to me as a personal trainer to “lose weight” (even though physically training for a few hours a week results in mild, if any, weight loss, which is frustrating for them when it is explained to them on the first day), many women come out of it with a more positive body image, feel sexier, fit into their clothes better, have a tighter body, and they weigh MORE or the SAME while eating MORE or the SAME amount of food.
 
It is also obvious to me as a trainer which clients are restricting or under eating when working out because they never improve and are hungry working out on low calorie diets, among many other signs and symptoms I will not go into detail in a blog post.  They are stuck on the light weights.  They never fully recover.
 
While some women want to maintain an image of being small and frail, I do not support it when training because it isn’t healthy.  Osteoporosis, or lean mass?
 
Getting women to buy a healthier body image, ie one that is strong, can lift more than pink 5 lb dumbbells, and consume over 2000-2400 Calories is what I try to do.  It is difficult.  It is its own area of eating disorder work, not even recognized by the old school eating disorder specialists.  Of course, they don’t even lift or train people! 🙂
 
The summary of what I’m trying to say is that while some women are focused on body image, teaching women what a healthy body image is with strength training and eating more is probably what is most helpful for them long term due to the relapse rate of women who just try to modify their body with diet alone.
 
Many women will likely be focused on their body image either way, so why not give tangible feedback through fitness parameters they are not able to meet when restricting?
 
To clarify, strength training is NOT bodybuilding, as that is an ENTIRELY different concept.  Strength training produces results with very little time in the gym and very little loss of fitness in weeks of not doing it with strength goals rather than calorie burn and aesthetic goals.  Bodybuilding is aesthetics focused.
 
The problem is that when some women go to do a workout program, it is circuit training, non-specific, non-goal oriented resistance training, “go-for-the-burn spinning classes or CrossFit,” pink weights with dance music and air crunches (about as hard as it sounds), stretching, pilates, yoga, and a small percentage go with bodybuilding, which is also not what I would recommend for a positive body image because the focus is on aesthetics/weight/body fat% rather than fitness parameters you can improve with goal-oriented training programs.
 
Goal oriented training programs focus on overall increase in functional capacity like weight lifted, repetitions (reps), and sets with moderate progressive overload.  They focus on attaining better coordination, balance, agility, strength, REASONABLE muscular and cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.  However, I’m not promoting the concept of mainstream “functional training” programs, as that is not standardized either.  Those programs sometimes make no sense to me either as to the purpose of some of their exercises.
 
In comparison to bodybuilding, strength training focuses not just on body composition but also other important and more readily testable exercises that show you are actually more adept at moving your body in space in time rather than just lifting weights till your muscles are broken down to the maximum for no purpose other than to build them.
 
Sometimes it is amazing to me how much exercise people do that is not doing anything for their bodies in terms of aesthetics, yet they are focused entirely on aesthetics for exercise.
 
I’m sure many of us have heard others say they walk 8 miles a day “to burn calories,” while simultaneously complaining they have no butt, or they adopt a running program for the sole purpose of calorie burn and again wonder why their butt isn’t getting nicer (it doesn’t overload the gluteal muscles and is not high intensity).  These are not fitness goals that are healthy, and frankly, it is an abuse of the purpose of exercise.
 
The problem is trying to get women to strength train, something that may make them fit into clothes better independent of calorie restriction (or even by eating more food!).  Some do not want to do it because of this unhealthy body image that women are supposed to be thin, skinny (more like skinny-fat), frail, and if they lift anything over 5 lbs they may start to look like a man.  This is an irrational, but all too common a belief.
 
Being frail is not cool!  If more women strength trained, I think it would cut down the number of women who are dissatisfied with their bodies significantly.  Bodies are made to move and be strong.
 
Strength training also can give realistic negative feedback on your physical condition as a result of cutting calories, thus giving negative reinforcement to the restrictive and thin mentality.  Use “that butt” as a reason to actually eat more food because you won’t get “that butt” if you don’t eat more and lift heavy.
 
Big guys train hardcore, sometimes have chemical help, and lift more than 50 lbs.  Most lift more than 100 lbs.  Getting to the 30 lb dumbbells as a woman and squatting your body weight should be seen as an accomplishment, not that you are manly.  Furthermore, male testosterone levels are much higher than women’s, so even if lifting the same amount as a man, you will not look like a man.  Times change, and so should women’s body image evolve to a healthier one that strength trains.
 


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Low Calorie is Not Synonymous with Healthy

Oct 9

Posted by Joey Gochnour, BS, BS, MEd, RDN, CSSD, CSOWM, LD, NASM-CPT in Personal Experiences and Opinions | No Comments

This is something I see over and over again, so excuse the rant post.

Everyone thinks they are an expert on nutrition these days.  You can find nutrition information all over the Internet telling you how to lose weight and exercise.  Everyone believes it is really simple science of calories in = calories out.

We run into special sorts of…first world problems in my profession.

Example:

Suzie read a journalist’s article on a website promoting beauty and fitness (nothing illegal in this realm on advice giving) with ads promising “pound shedding” and “fat blasting” and “washboard abs” (keyword rich content).

It may have even been one of those websites that requires you click to get to the next sentence 20 times in a slide show format because it optimizes the number of ads that can be shown per user who is dying to learn the secret to a ripped physique on this credible website (I’m not serious about the credible part).

In the article, vegetables are promoted as healthy for everyone in large quantities because they are low in calories and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  MyPlate does something similar for the general population–making half your plate fruits and vegetables.

While this seems innocuous and may be an article promoting a much needed message when 2/3 of the population is overweight, sometimes the type of person reading this article can take things too far.

Suzie works out 6 days a week for 1-2 hours a day and is an active student walking to classes.  She sometimes eats breakfast, has a salad for lunch because salads are healthy, and she watches her portions using the standard portion sizes recommended on the side of packages for serving sizes.

She also runs when she feels tired and has a recent history of a stress fracture and tight muscles.

Suzie might be eating 1300-1600 Calories on a good day and isn’t even meeting her RDA for protein (the lowest recommendation for protein), and of course, she wants to lose weight and tone up.  This is a common goal for many women.  She has these insane cravings for sweets and feels guilty when she eats them because they are “not healthy.”

Suzie underestimates her workouts and overestimates her portion sizes while tracking her calories to the calorie.  She’s not losing weight and she is frustrated.

Is encouraging another salad for lunch for this individual healthy?  No.

Furthermore, the thought of going up on calories from 1600 to 2000 Calories seems like a dumb idea to her since, yea she might gain some muscle, which would solve the firming and toning issue.

Anyhow.  Nutrition is about matching nutrient needs to the individual.  Population messages are important but need to be taken in context.

It is important to match macronutrient needs (total calories, protein, fat, carbs) to the individual’s activity.  A message telling the population to choose low calorie foods and skimp on portion sizes is not an appropriate message for people like Suzie who is an “overachiever” with her goals and doing nothing wrong but reading nutrition messages on the Internet that are not tailored to her.

If you like this post please comment and share with your friends.  If you resonate with Suzie and would like to schedule a consultation, please send me an email.



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Why Follow-Ups are Necessary in Nutrition Therapy

Sep 29

Posted by Joey Gochnour, BS, BS, MEd, RDN, CSSD, CSOWM, LD, NASM-CPT in Uncategorized | No Comments

It is utterly impossible for anyone to teach anyone everything they need to know about nutrition and have it stick on the first session.  It is also impossible to have counseling and behavior changes occur, question beliefs, motivations, feelings, and lack of motivations with regards to food and nutrition, lifestyle, and exercise in one session.

One of the biggest failures of clients is those who go from practitioner to practitioner getting opinion after opinion from only your objective information that you fill out on our initial intake forms.  You are more than a set of health statistics.  No one is going to get to know you and figure out what is going on without building a relationship.

Nutrition counseling should be compared to therapy or personal training.  Things often don’t change in one session.  This is especially important to realize for those who use food for reasons other than physical nourishment.  Yea, you know what to do.  Then why aren’t you doing it?  That’s what this is about.  I help you figure out why you do what you do.  I help resolve ambivalence to change.

I’m not saying that sometimes I may do an excellent job and you may learn everything (ha!), but if you came for weight loss, for example, sometimes things I say may not be interpreted or implemented correctly.  Sometimes you have behaviors that are getting in the way of your weight loss.

This leads to cop outs like: “Well I tried.”  Does one time of trying count?  Sure.  However, one session sometimes doesn’t lead to the types of changes you want.  If something isn’t working, it is a sign you need to talk about it.  Why didn’t it work?  Don’t blame yourself for not holding to the results.  Most of what I think I do is figure out how to tailor messages to the individual.  Sometimes it is shooting a moving target with a blindfold on based on questions you asked and hear the answers to direct me where to shoot.

It’s like playing Marco-Polo with one “Marco” and hearing one “Polo” and wondering why we didn’t run into each other in the swimming pool (that’s the only place I ever played that game).  You may change your position in life in the mean time and have everything change.  This happens often when college students join the work force.  Previously, they were walking around between classes all day on a large campus.  Now, they sit all day.

How likely is anyone going to shoot that moving target while blindfolded on the first try?  Maybe if we use the Force? 🙂

How will you or I know that you’ve interpreted something correctly without a follow-up?

Yes, it is an investment to come more than one time, but some of the alternatives aren’t so pretty.  It’s so much easier to change behaviors now before they lead to disease than later when they cost significant medical bills and your ability to live a happy, healthy life significantly decreases.  No one likes to change, but if you think about the future, sometimes changing now isn’t so bad in comparison.

Since “fear of disease” tends to not motivate the general population as much as it does people who study health, another way to put it is this: think how happy you might be once you reach your health goals.  When you’re in that place of health, you’ll feel happier about yourself, feel confident in your body, feel able to move about the world with ease.

When I’m working with personal training clients, they figure out my system.  Each time, we try to add an exercise, add weight, or add repetitions at an existing weight.  It is a steady progression, whatever we do, and it is easy to see how doing that gives them results.  With nutrition, the same thing is needed.  You need to make small yet important changes that you are comfortable or only slightly uncomfortable making.  Once you do them, you get motivated to keep making more changes.

It is difficult to help you make those changes when a client is seen only once and goes forth with some initial tools.  Changing your lifestyle takes work.  It isn’t fun to make changes, but why not revisit and figure out what is working and what isn’t?

Please comment and share!



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