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Weight: Is It a Matter of Willpower?

Nancy Clark, RD/30 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

Is weight simply a matter of willpower? You might think so, given the number of dieters who add on exercise, subtract food, and expect excess fat to melt away. But it does not always happen that way. Older athletes notice the fat that creeps on year after year seems harder to lose. And others who have slimmed down complain how easily they regain lost body fat.

The Endocrine Society (www.EndocineSociety.org) took a close look at why we can too easily accumulate excess body fat, as well as why it’s so easy for dieters to regain lost fat. (1) They describe fat-gain as a disorder of the body’s energy balance system, not just a passive accumulation of excess calories. They highlight many factors other than food and exercise that influence body fatness, including genetics, the environment, and evolution.

If you are frustrated by your seeming inability to easily shed a few pounds, here are some facts to ponder.

Studies with identical twins, as well as adopted children, suggest 25% to 50% of the risk for becoming obese is genetic. Identical twins who are raised in different homes tend to weigh the same, despite eating different foods.

Some people might have a “thrifty gene” that conserves calories and resists fat loss. In terms of evolution, this would be important for surviving famines (a.k.a., diets).

Genetic factors alone fail to explain the rapid increase in obesity during the past 40 years. Genetic factors get influenced by the environment. We need to learn more about the combined impact of genes plus: environmental toxins, highly processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, antibiotics, the microbiome, maternal obesity, and fetal exposure to a mother’s obesity-promoting diet.

Some “experts” say sugar/carbs are inherently fattening. They claim carbs trigger an insulin spike which drives sugar into fat cells, creates hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and stimulates the urge to overeat. The Endocrine Society does not support this controversial hypothesis. They say eating too many calories of any type is the problem.

Respected research shows no differences in fatness when subjects ate the same number of calories from carbohydrate, protein, or fat. A calorie is a calorie; 100 excess calories from fat and carbohydrate are no more fattening than 100 excess calories from protein. That said, some calories are yummier and less satiating than others; they are easier to overeat. For example, I could easily devour a lot more calories from ice cream than from boiled eggs!

We need to learn more about the brain’s role in body fatness. What is the metabolic impact of carbs, protein and fat on the brain, and the psychological impact of enjoying rewarding foods? Does the brain-on-a-diet get signals about the amount of fat stored in adipose tissue and, in response, trigger the body to want to eat more and move less, in order to thwart fat loss and survive a perceived famine (diet)?

Social situations can promote fat gain. At parties, the presence of a lot of people, as well as a wide variety of foods, triggers overeating. In contrast, a repetitive daily diet with the same breakfasts and lunches every day can triggersensory-specific satietyand curb food intake.

Dieting/restricting calories to lose fat increases the desire to eat, as well as reduces the metabolism.In comparison, forcing weight gain by over-eating increases spontaneous activity (fidgeting) and curbs hunger. That’s why genetically skinny athletes have a hard time maintaining the weight they have forced their bodies to gain.

The rise in childhood obesity might be linked to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as bisphenol A (BPA), perflourinated chemicals (PFCs) and pthalates. EDCs pass from mother to fetus across the placenta, and later, to the infant via breast milk. They alter the signals given by estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormone. Some research suggests they stimulate fat deposition.

BPA is used in hard plastic bottles, food-can linings, and food packaging. BPA is thought to promote the creation of new fat cells and change metabolism at the cellular level. To determine the obesogenic effects of BPA, we need more comprehensive research that looks at men, women, and younger and older people. Some studies indicate BPA may be linked to behavioral problems in boys. To be wise, limit your use of plastic containers with the number 7 in the recycling symbol on the container.

The types of bacteria that live in your gut, your microbiome, likely impact weight. Hence, the microbiome is becoming a target for obesity research. Your best bet is to cultivate a healthy microbiome by regularly eating fruits and vegetables—and limiting processed foods with little fiber.

Exercise plays a role in weight management—but less than you might think. Exercise alone is largely ineffective as a means to lose weight, even though it contributes to a calorie deficit. For some people, exercise triggers the urge to eat more. Hence, you want to be sure your reason to exercise is to enhance health, not burn calories to lose weight. Once you’ve lost weight, exercise does help maintain the loss.

After reading this information, you may be left wondering if you will ever be able to reach your desired weight. Perhaps yes, if you can take these positive steps:

Enjoy a satisfying breakfast, early lunch, and a later lunch (or hearty snack), to negate hunger and a perceived daytime famine. Consume a lighter dinner, to enhance fat-loss at night, when you are sleeping.
Focus meals and snacks on satiating whole foods with protein, fiber: apple + cheese, Greek yogurt + granola, peanut butter + crackers.

Above all, be grateful for your healthy body. Give it the fuel it needs, and trust it will perform best when it is appropriately trained and well fueled on a daily basis. The best athlete is not the leanest athlete, but rather the genetically gifted athlete. If you trying to force your body into a too-lean physique, think again. Weight is more than a matter of will power.

Sports nutritionist Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD has a private practice in the Boston-area (Newton; 617-795-1875), where she helps both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes create winning food plans. Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook, and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer are available at nancyclarkrd.com. For workshops, see www.NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.

Reference
Schwartz M et al. Obesity Pathogenesis: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. Endocrine Reviews 38 (4):267-296, 2017. https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/38/4/267/3892397

How Many Studies Does It Take? How Many Lives Must Be Lost?

Shira Litwack/25 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

I pride myself on being a science geek through and through. I understanding the scientific method, I understanding retesting getting consistent results. But I think accepting results of scientific testing comes down more to the mighty dollar and marketing than to the betterment of human lives.

Intermittent Fasting: Everything You Need to Know

Britney Whistance/23 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

Intermittent Fasting has been around for a few years now and has been making the rounds on the health circuit due to its many benefits. When it was first introduced, intermittent fasting was thought of as an extreme form of dieting which was scrutinized by skeptics who felt it could be harmful. However, as more and more studies come out, the many advantages of the diet are being realized and today intermittent fasting is one of the most popular fitness trends. Not only is the diet being used to lose weight but also to improve overall well being, slow down the aging process, and to live longer.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting consists of periods of eating and fasting. Unlike other diets, the focus of intermittent fasting is on when to eat, instead of what to eat. Although there is no restriction on what to eat, for the diet to be effective, it is recommended that you eat healthy foods.

Because there is no restriction on what to eat, intermittent fasting is more of an eating pattern rather than a diet. Generally, intermittent fasting involves 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating for at least two days of the week.

As extreme as fasting to lose weight may seem, humans have been fasting throughout history. Oftentimes people fasted because they were short on food, other times they fasted because it was part of their religion.

Fasting may look like a tall task but it is surprisingly natural for humans.

How to do Intermittent Fasting

The first step of intermittent fasting involves the splitting of the week into two periods of fasting and periods of eating. Note, that during periods of fasting, you’ll eat either nothing or very little – around 500-600 calories a day.

There are 3 main methods for intermittent fasting.

The 16/8 method: In this method, you give yourself 8 hours to eat and 16 hours of fasting. 16 hours of fasting may look like a lot but think of all the time you spend sleeping; all those people who skip breakfast are probably already fasting for this long.
Eat-stop-eat: This method of intermittent fasting consists of a day or two of complete fasting.
The 5:2 Diet: In this version of the diet you eat just 500-600 calories for two consecutive days and eat normally the rest of the time.

Since you’re surviving on a limited number of calories, you should be able to lose weight easily.

The key to the success of intermittent fasting is commitment to the periods of fasting and eating.

How it works

When you fast, your body becomes more dependent on stored fat for energy. To make the stored fat more accessible, the body adjusts hormone levels in response to the lack of food intake.

Here are some ways your body’s internal makeup changes:

Human Growth Hormone: The levels of growth hormones spike which leads to the buildup of muscles and the loss of fat.

Insulin: Insulin levels plummet causing the body to turn to stored fats for energy.

Cellular repair: Fasting sends your body into repair mode. As you fast, aged or dysfunctional protein is removed from cells.

Gene expression: Fasting modifies gene expression and enhances your ability to fight illness, protecting you against diseases. The changing gene expressions is what allows people to live longer lives.

Intermittent fasting’s effects on cell repair, gene expression and levels of hormones is what gives it the added benefits (reduces aging, sculpts muscle and increases longevity).

How it works for weight-loss

The primary reason for taking up intermittent fasting for many people is the fact that it helps with weight-loss without having to give up certain foods. People are able to lose weight because of reduced calorie intake during the week and the changes in hormones. Also, short-term fasting has proven to speed up metabolism. As a result of taking in fewer calories and burning more, people are able to lose significant amounts of weight. To increase the number of calories you burn, make it a point to do simple exercises every day and remember to control your calorie intake on the days you eat.

Research has found that in a matter of just 3-24 weeks, people have experienced 3-8% drop in weight and 4.7% decline in waist circumference.

Other benefits

In addition to weight loss, intermittent fasting has other health benefits:

It lowers insulin resistance and blood sugar, reducing the risk of diabetes.
It reduces inflammation which makes the body susceptible to diseases.
It improves heart health.
Reduces risk of developing cancer.
Augments the functioning of the brain.
Since it promotes cellular repair, intermittent fasting slows the aging process.

Intermittent fasting is fairly new so more research needs to be done, but most experts will stand by it as it has improved the health of many people.

As for now, the results from intermittent fasting have been incredible. If you’ve been trying to lose weight and have failed miserable, you may consider giving intermittent fasting a go!

Britney Whistance is a passionate health and lifestyle blogger who loves to write about prevailing trends. She is a featured author at various authoritative blogs in the health and fitness industry and currently associated as a blogger with WishShape.com, your one stop-shop for professional waist-trainers and compression clothing . You can find her on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Hydration Is Key!

Heather Binns/22 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

How do you know when you’re dehydrated? How do you keep hydrated? Do you mean drinking water? If so, how much water should we drink? These are all very simple questions to which many do not know the answers. Let’s change that.

Meta Slider - HTML Overlay - pregnant woman holding bottle of water Whether you exercise or not, hydration is still an important factor in everyday life. Our body is an intricate matrix of systems that work together so we can function properly. If one of those systems is off, it forces the remaining systems to work harder. It’s like riding a bicycle with a poorly lubricated chain. In order for the bike to progress forward, one would have to pedal harder and faster than if the chain was well lubricated.

Our body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue and organ needs water. Without water our body could not remove waste, metabolize food, lubricate joints, maintain its temperature and transport nutrients. Water makes up more than half of our body weight and is the most important nutrient that it uses.

We lose water every day when we sweat, use the restroom and even when we breathe. We lose water at an even faster rate than normal during high temperatures, exercise, sickness, vomiting or have diarrhea. When this happens we become dehydrated.

Have you ever felt so thirsty that when you drank water it was the best thing you ever had? That is most likely due to being dehydrated, meaning the body does not have enough water to function properly. Some signs of dehydration include:

Extreme thirst
Headaches
Muscle cramps
Darker urine or very little urine
Rapid pulse
Dry mouth
Confusion
Sleepiness or fatigue

According to Harris Lieberman, Ph.D, if you go 4 – 8 hours without water you are mildly dehydrated (1.5% drop in body weight) and then severely dehydrated if you go approximately 24 hours without water (3% – 4% drop in body weight). In order to get the body back to its normal state after being dehydrated, we have to go through the process of hydration, i.e.replacing the missing water. This can be done by:

Drinking water and other beverages high in water content such as tea, coffee, lemonade, vegetable juice, fruit juice, milk, etc.
Eating foods high in water content such as cucumbers, watermelon, green peppers, lettuce, radishes, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, grapefruit, baby carrots and cantaloupe.
Consuming ice chips.

water But this still leaves one question unanswered: How much water should we drink? There are a variety of responses, but what I always recommend to my Renov8 Fitness members and clients is to drink half of their body weight in ounces of water everyday. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink 70 ounces of water a day.

Increasing water intake abruptly can be a challenge at first. The key is to slowly work your way up to the allotted amount of water each day and eventually your body will compensate. Your body will function properly in everyday life if you stay hydrated!

Reprinted with permission from Renov8 Fitness, LLC.

Heather Binns is a nationally acclaimed fitness expert, wellness educator, certified personal trainer/coach and best-selling author. She loves fitness and has a passion for high-energy and personal fulfillment, and has spent most of her life devoted to helping others achieve their fitness goals.

Healthy Aging: A Paradigm Shift to Personal Responsibility

Nicholas Prukop/17 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

The world today is dedicated to technology, advancing research and the access to unlimited information on all manner of subjects. Each of us relies on technology not only for our questions about life but also for receiving the answers. And oh, by the way, we want our answers NOW! The speed with which we live our lives is increasing everyday and sometimes it can be very frustrating to realize that we can’t “have it all – and do it all”.

In my opinion, what has been lost in the race to become technologically advanced, is the notion of healing our illnesses and addressing underlying CAUSES so that we may each partner with ourselves as positive and loving participants in our own care. The field of healthcare is also undergoing a transformation in the 21st century – a paradigm shift if you will – toward ever more increasing complexity and technological innovation. For the individual this has many positive aspects, but in many ways it is also becoming increasingly difficult to navigate – and understand not only “what it is – but how to use it”.

When I was a child, we saw our doctor for our shots and annual checkups for school. There were relatively no other aspects of this relationship than seeking help if we got sick or injured. The doctor was very often a family friend and most of the time was able to spend quality time with the patient on each visit.

Today we rely on the healthcare system to serve a wide variety of very complex health needs. The doctor is very often busy and can spend relatively little time discussing our issues in depth because the system is designed to maximise results, revenue, and optimise time. Specialties are now common for everything from brain, heart and lungs to bones, hormones and many others that require a referral from another physician and these visits typically involve further testing at each stop along the way (more complexity). The patient is “processed” and drugs are almost always involved in any recommendation or treatment.

The juggling of information and treatments is a significant part of any participation in the healthcare system of the 21st century. This complexity – and cost – is a major part of the challenge we face going forward in designing a “patient – doctor” partnership that can hopefully restore “some” of the basic strengths that were once a part of the “older” system of delivering healthcare to people when it was really a personal and individual service.

The partnerships that are most important in today’s world of healthcare are the following: pharmaceutical, insurance, medical, government, hospitals, and finally the doctor. The doctor is stuck between a “rock and hard place” because the system is driven by money and profits for the most part. Insurance companies control the payment systems and the patient – and doctor – are left to try and understand billing systems and other ramifications of the “treatment process”.

The healthcare model of the future

The way I see it now is that we are EACH responsible for our own health (the new paradigm) and the outcomes of our choices will determine the results that we obtain in securing – or losing – our health. In the period between 1988 and 2011, I was unable to afford health insurance so I “bet on myself” and the result turned out well. I used my fitness world as my insurance program and made sure to protect myself from risk to the best of my ability while training my body, mind and spirit to be as healthy and fit as possible.

Once I qualified for Medicare at 65 in 2011, I continued to behave as though I had no insurance and have done quite well with this strategy to the present day. It does not mean that I will NEVER need to see a doctor or use the insurance I now have, it just means that I have been able to live in a world of my OWN making without ever being “stuck” in a system that does not know me and could care less about what I need. I believe I am an example of the possibility of health as it could exist in the future if we each take care of ourselves properly every day of our lives and remember the aspects that WILL characterize our true individual healthcare program:

what we think – whether our thoughts are constructive or destructive;
what we eat – whether we eat healthy and natural foods as opposed to unhealthy, packaged foods full of preservatives;
what we feel – whether our emotions are positive (e.g. love, compassion, patience, understanding, etc…) or negative (hatred, anger, frustration, etc…);
what we choose to do (or not do) – a number of lifestyle choices such as smoking, fitness and using drugs, will impact our health;
what we believe.

This “wellness” concept I am describing is in “play” today in many forms and is increasingly becoming the “model” by which all healthcare programs will be judged in the future. True “prevention” to me is NOT only testing for disease but depends on making the best choices we can every single day of our lives and becoming responsible and accountable for those choices going forward (personal responsibility). I am not saying we will never need others to help us because the unforeseen aspects of life always have a way of “showing up” in our lives regardless of how carefully and thoughtfully we have behaved in our lives.

What I believe to be the healthcare model of the future going forward will be a partnership not only with ourselves but with professionals who have the time, knowledge, and ability to address our needs from an aspect of “healing – not curing” what ails us.

When my father passed away from cancer in November of 1983 at the age of 64, he had taken on no responsibility for what had gotten him sick in the first place. He had also taken no part in his treatment to try and overcome the challenges he was going to face going forward. I believe this “passive” behavior played a part in contributing to his death at a relatively early age. Smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and many stressors “seen and unseen”, “known and unknown” (and much more) probably “disabled” his ability to know what was happening to his body as he aged.

rsz_healthy This experience at age 37 probably did more for me than I will ever know since I would be tested in the years ahead by many failures, challenges, hurts, resentments, guilt and suffering – all CAUSED by me and the choices I made in my own life. The ONE thing I did right was make a commitment to my OWN health and fitness needs and when the time came to deal with the consequences of my choices – I was able to DO SOMETHING I loved – and that was run. This is why I can say today that running saved my life – because I truly believe that it did. Fitness was my anchor. My advice to you today?

Get moving!
Eat a healthy diet.
Don’t smoke.
Create positive health habits by making thoughtful choices.
Don’t wallow in the past and dump all your regrets.
Don’t let your fears dominate your thinking and be open to change.
Bless your gifts and those that love you.
Be grateful for being alive today and never take your life for granted.
Remember to smile everyday and be open to new experiences.
Get off your phone and step away from your devices – and computer – and “take a break” from self imposed pressure and stressors.
Finally, take time to be with your own thoughts and let them “wash over you” until you feel happy with what you are thinking. WHAT WE THINK – WE BECOME”.

Originally printed on HealthyNewAge.com. Reprinted with permission from Nicholas Prukop.

Nicholas Prukop is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer & a Health Coach, a fitness professional with over 25 years of experience whose passion for health and fitness comes from his boyhood in Hawaii where he grew up a swimmer on Maui. He found his calling in writing his first book “Healthy Aging & You: Your Journey to Becoming Happy, Healthy & Fit” and since then he has dedicated himself to empowering, inspiring and enabling people of all ages to reach for the best that is within them and become who they are meant to be – happy, healthy and fit – and be a part of a world where each person can contribute their own unique gifts to life.

If you need help in designing a fitness plan, you can contact Nicholas Prukop via email at runningnick@sbcglobal.net or read his inspiring book Healthy Aging & YOU.

Should You Eat Healthy Everyday?

Ashley Koff, RD/16 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

Recently I received a note from a trainer saying “things to be done EVERYDAY, eat healthy everyday…”. As I thought about this recommendation, I realized there are three issues it presents for almost all of us.

So before I answer, let me address those:

We have no working definition of “healthy” eating in this country.

Truth. Now that’s sad. We have government definitions. Those have influence from trade associations and also are very one-size fits all. We have practitioners (those who currently work with others – at least two people – on their health), we have coaches, we have influencers, we have authors, and we have currently healthy people sharing their takes, tips, resources and definitions of healthy. Then we have products marketed, even named, “healthy”. But what we don’t have is one definition of what healthy eating is today.

We have many days. Hopefully, you and me, we have lots of days ahead of us.

So to do one thing, several times, for all those days seems daunting, even unrealistic. When we give recommendations or set goals that are unrealistic, in my opinion, we are more likely to fail. I’m not sure humans versus robots are wired to do the same thing everyday.

We can control a lot.

But we can’t control each day, and as such, life happens where eating healthy one day may be not just a choice to skip but a reality – like a winter storm happens, and the stores are closed except the gas station and it’s out of most food. This isn’t an excuse, but rather a reality. Not a frequent reality, but it busts the everyday goal.

So NO you shouldn’t eat healthy everyday. But what you do need to do is give your body the resources it needs to run better, more often. To do this demands that you a) Assess where you are at b) keep what’s better and c) act better, not perfect, more often. That’s right, move over “eat healthy everyday” and enter “choose your better nutrition more often.”

Semantics are everything. What goal are you working towards? Have you written it out? Have you said it out loud? Is it doable? Need help?

Let’s get better, together.

Originally printed on ashleykoffapproved.com. Reprinted with permission.

Ashley Koff RD is your better health enabler. For decades, Koff has helped thousands get and keep better health by learning to make their better not perfect nutrition choices more often. A go-to nutrition expert for the country’s leading doctors, media, companies and non-profit organizations, Koff regularly shares her Better Nutrition message with millions on national and local television, magazines and newspapers. Visit her website at ashleykoffapproved.com. Ashley is also available for nutritional consultations.

Cancer, Lifestyle and Health Coaching

Linda Gogl/15 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

A cancer diagnosis is tremendously overwhelming and often takes away the feelings of control over one’s life. After diagnosis comes the whirlwind of information and new decisions that revolve around living with cancer. Health & Wellness Coaches work with clients in a variety of ways to help them navigate through the healthcare system and develop a self-created plan for treatment and lifestyle that supports the client in managing and re-gaining control over their lives.

5 Elements to Boost the Retention in Your Fitness Studio

Josh Leve/11 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

Retention – the infamous “back door” that has plagued the fitness industry for decades – demands the attention of any studio that intends to stand the test of time.

Here are five of the rules to live by in order to keep your studio’s members coming back – with smiles on their faces.

1. Understand the Cost of Retention vs. Acquisition

Consider these three axioms of customer acquisition as opposed to retention:

It costs five times as much to acquire a new customer than it does to retain a current customer;
The probability of selling to an existing client is 60-70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%;
The fitness studio industry average retention rate is roughly 70%, meaning you can expect to lose 30% of your customers every year.

Furthermore, retained clients are, generally, happy clients. They tend to become “Word of Mouth” advocates of your business, leading to cost efficient acquisition. Just like “the best offense is a good defense,” so is “closing the back door opens the front door.”

Clearly, Retention – keeping the members you have – is the name of the game.

2. It Starts from Day One

The old expression “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” definitely holds true in the fitness studio business. Studios need to know who the newbies are and from the get-go do everything possible to make the very first experience in your studio top-notch.

This means friendly greetings, knowing client’s names, and introducing the new member to staff and fellow clients. The first day of membership or the first class taken is the first step (and lasting impression) toward retention.

Whatever your onboarding strategy – and you must have one – it starts now. Not tomorrow.

3. Deliver on Your Brand Promise

A key component of retention is in understanding what attracted your clients in the first place. Whatever your brand promise was that got them there – it’s incumbent on you to deliver on that promise.

If you’re touting your studio as the best this or the best that – then you need to be exactly that! If you’re marketing the largest this, or greatest that, – deliver.

This generally means a friendly, helpful, non-judgmental workout environment along with working machines, no canceled classes, and trainers/instructors as advertised.

Most importantly, deliver programmatically. If you’ve established a 60-day weight loss program, do whatever it takes for your clients to be successful – within the parameters of the positive client experience.

4. Personalization

One of the most compelling differentiating factors of the studio business is the personalization factor. Most happy members and clients are pleased because they feel their studio experience is unique to them – that what they are doing is not cookie cutter, but that they matter.

Personalization cannot be overstated. If the experience is fun, effective, and unforgettable for each client every time – that client will continue to frequent your studio. In some ways it’s akin to a doctor. The good ones treat your disease; the great ones treat the disease AND the person.

afpa1 In the case of a studio, the “disease” might be to “lose 20 pounds in two months.” Don’t allow this client to feel like he/she was thrown into “another class” to achieve the goal. “We have classes for that,” won’t do. Rather say, “Let me put together a custom program just for you based on what you like to do.”

5. Listen to Your Clients and Your Staff

Everybody makes mistakes. Nobody nor anything is perfect. Problems do arise. It’s the nature of life and can’t be avoided. The key is how you respond when things go wrong.

Most members and especially most staff are eager to point out when something in your studio could have been done better. Listen to them, consider their point of view, and take remedial action as soon as possible.

Responsiveness leads to improvement. If you don’t know a problem exists, it will continue. Encourage members and staff to let you know when a problem exists and how they believe it should be remedied.

When people believe their input has value, they will continue to provide it – and your business will continue to improve.

Retention can be a tricky element in the overall context of your fitness business. The most important strategy is to always, always keep your eye on retention – it’s the key to your bottom line.

Josh Leve is responsible for the strategic development and growth of the Association of Fitness Studios. Josh brings more than 10 years of sales, consulting, advertising, marketing, operations, and retail experience to AFS and has spent more than a decade in the fitness industry.

Standing man with broken inner mechanism, bad health

Are you training your gut?

Nancy Clark, RD/10 January 2018/ All MFN blog/

Athletes tend to do a good job of training their muscles, heart and lungs. But some of them (particularly endurance athletes and those in running sports) commonly fail to train their gut. As one marathoner reported, “I was so afraid of getting diarrhea during long training runs that I did not eat or drink anything beforehand. I really struggled after 14 miles…” A high school soccer player admitted, “I’m so afraid I’ll throw up if I run with food in my stomach.” He ate only a light lunch at 11:00 and then practiced on fumes at 3:30. No wonder he had a disappointing season.

An estimated 30-50% of endurance athletes (including up to 90% of distance runners) have experienced gastro-intestinal (GI) issues during and after hard exercise. They fear bloat, gas, nausea, stomach cramps/pain, side stitch, diarrhea, vomiting, and urge to defecate. These issues arise during long bouts of exercise because blood flow to the gut is reduced for an extended period of time. When combined with dehydration, elevated body temperature and high levels of stress hormones, normal intestinal function can abruptly end.

If you are an athlete with a finicky GI tract, restricting your diet before and during exercise will not solve the problem. You want to learn how to train your gut to accommodate performance enhancing carbs and water. That way, you can train better—hence compete better—without stressing about undesired pit stops.

Thankfully, the gut is trainable. Competitive eaters have proven this point. Google Nathans’ Hot Dog Eating Competition and watch the video of a champ who stuffed 72 hotdogs into his stomach in 10 minutes. Clearly, he had to train his gut to be able to complete that task.

Competitive eating is unlikely your goal, but you may want to be competitive in your sport. That means you need to fuel wisely in order to perform optimally. While some “keto-athletes” choose to train their bodies to rely on fat for fuel (fat is less likely to cause GI distress), training the gut is a far easier alternative for most of us.

The following tips can help you exercise with digestive peace.

Drink enough fluids. Dehydration triggers intestinal problems. Your goal is to drink enough to prevent 2% dehydration (sweat loss of 2 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight from pre- to post-exercise). If you are a “big guy” who sweats heavily, this can be a lot of fluid. For example, a 200-pound football player could easily lose 4 pounds (a half-gallon) of sweat in an hour of exercise. He needs to train his gut to handle fluid replacement during training. He could need as much as 12 to 16 ounces every 15 minutes during a two-hour practice.

Feeling “full” and “bloated” during exercise indicates fluids (and foods) have not emptied from the stomach. This commonly happens during really hard exercise, when reduced blood flow to the stomach delays stomach emptying. Hot weather and prolonged exercise in the heat can also reduce stomach emptying.

You want to dilute highly concentrated carbs (i.e., gels), so be sure to drink enough water during exercise (i.e. 16 oz. water per 100 calories gel).This will help speed up gastric emptying.

If you plan to eat a peanut butter on a bagel before you compete, you want to routinely eat that before important training sessions. This helps train your gut to accommodate fat (sustained energy) as well as carbs (quick energy).

Once carbohydrate (such as sport drink, gel, banana, or gummi bears) empties from the stomach, it enters the small intestine and is broken down into one of three simple sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose). These sugars need “taxi cabs” to get transported out of the intestine and into the blood stream.

Too many gels or chomps without enough transporters can lead to diarrhea. By training with your race-day carbs, you can increase the number of transporters.

If you typically eat a low-carb Paleo or keto-type diet and then on the day of, let’s say, a marathon, you decide to fuel with carb-rich gels and sports drinks, your body won’t have the capacity to optimally transport the sugar (carbs) out of your intestines and to your muscles. You could easily end up with diarrhea.

When planning what to eat during extended exercise, choose from a variety of carbs with a variety of sugars (i.e., sport drink, gum drops, and maple sugar candy). This helps prevent the glucose transporters from getting saturated. Too much of one kind of sport food can easily create GI problems.

“Real foods” such as banana, raisins and cereal, have been shown to be as effective as commercial sport foods. Your body processes “real food” every day and has developed a good supply of transporters to deal with the carbohydrate you commonly eat. By experimenting and learning what works best for your body, you can fuel without anxiety about undesired pit stops.

For exercise that lasts for up to two hours, research suggests about 60 grams (240 calories) of carb per hour can empty from the small intestine and get into the blood stream. Hence, that’s a good target. For longer, slower, events, the body can use 90 g (360 calories) carb per hour from multiple sources,as tolerated. Again, train your gut!

The bottom line

Train with relatively large volumes of fluid to get your stomach used to that volume.
Routinely eat carbohydrate-based foods before training sessions to increase your body’s ability to absorb and use the carbs.
During training, practice your race-day fueling. Mimic what you might eat before the actual competitive event, and tweak it until you find the right balance.
If you are concerned about diarrhea, in addition to preventing dehydration, limit your fiber intake for a few days pre-event (fewer whole grains, fruits and veggies).
Reducing your intake of onions, garlic, broccoli, apples, and sorbitol might help reduce GI issues during exercise.
Meet with a sports dietitian to help you create a fueling plan that promotes intestinal peace and better performance.

Sports nutritionist Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD has a private practice in the Boston-area (Newton; 617-795-1875). She helps both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes create winning food plans. Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook, and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer are available at nancyclarkrd.com. For online workshops: www.NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.