A Look At Extreme Dieting

To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse: A Look At Extreme Dieting

The word "cleanse" is all over the news these days. It pops up just about everywhere because there's always a celebrity cleanse du jour. Last week Gwynneth Paltrow used an extreme diet that included cleansing to prepare for her "Pepper Potts" role in Iron Man 2.

So what's out there? Well, there's the juice cleanse, the master cleanse, the 5 day cleanse, the 7 day cleanse and I have even seen the 14 day cleanse. I am quite sure there are many, many more I have missed. Additionally,there are spa destination cleanse programs and even "Cleanse Destinations."

The list is endless. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

But what is a "cleanse" exactly? Good Question. A cleanse is a diet regimen ideally designed to remove toxins from the body, generally by way of radical diet change. A cleanse regimen often involves consuming mainly liquids. If there is food involved, the food is generally high in fiber and eaten in its raw state.

Certain cleanses target the entire body, although there are cleanses designed for specific body systems or organs such as the kidneys or liver. The idea is that the toxins will be removed, leaving you with a better, healthier digestive tract and, subsequently, a healthier immune system and extra energy.

Sounds Good Right?

While working in the health and wellness profession, I've found that people are always looking for the next best health claim. They want a magic bullet or miracle cure all for their weight and health.

Unfortunately, cleansing is not the magic elixir it's cracked up to be. Information from the medical community basically states that there is little scientific evidence that cleansing has benefits.

In fact, there is major concern that cleansing can lead to extreme deydration. If you suffer medical conditions involving the kidneys or liver, the consequences could be serious.

Basically, your digestive tract regulates itself. Doing things to speed up the process--especially without medical direction --is a bad idea.

Yes, people do lose weight when cleansing. With that kind of drastic calorie reduction, how could you not? However, I will always state that any radical diet isn't a very good solution for anything and it won't be very effective in the long term.

The body is a perfect machine...until we gunk it up.

So, What's the best way to "cleanse" your system?

*First, increase your water intake and make sure you are getting enough throughout the day. While the "8 glasses a day" theory isn't exact science, it works in most cases.

*Second, eat high fiber whole foods. Frankly, if you are looking to "unchemical" your system, focus your food selection around unprocessed and organic food choices.

*Lastly, boost your exercise level. Get rid of those toxins the old fashioned way--by sweating it out!

If you do decide you want to try the cleanse route, please seek the advice of a medical professional before initiating any plans. The risk of harm most certainly would outweigh the benefits.

Until next time, be well!

Alicia

Fitting in Fitness

“Whole Fitness” is a concept I use with my clients to emphasize that fitness needs to be incorporated in to our lives without thinking of it as a task or a means to an end but rather a part of everything we do. Once you begin to look at something as a task, you begin to look for the end of that task even before it’s started. In our journey for a healthy lifestyle, it should be looked at as a journey, not a means to an end.


There are certain “Whole Fitness" tips I focus on for both myself and my clients:

• Make ourselves priority

If we can find time for TV, conference calls, dry cleaning runs, school meetings and facebooking, tweeting and myspacing, then we can find time for the number priority we overlook most frequently, ourselves. If we don’t commit to being the number one priority and take care of ourselves first, we cannot give 100% to other important issues such as our spouses, children, families, work, etc. A wise man once said, “You cannot continually fill the cups of others unless you refill the pot.”

• Look for easy answers

“Whole Fitness” is not rocket science. No fitness is rocket science. Many people feel overwhelmed by what’s out there for information. My best advice to my clients, make the most out of the day by making simple, but obvious choices.

 Use the stairs

 Park the car at the other end of the lot

 Use the bathroom on a different floor from where you work

 Stand up rather than sit for conference calls, or while being on the computer at home or the office.

 Get your kids involved – play tag, play football, challenge them to a walk, jog or run

 Make the most of lunch – WALK! For every 2000 steps we take we burn approx 100 calories, so get a pedometer and challenge yourself.

• Be food conscious

What’s the best way to know what you are eating? Write it down, of course! A food journal needs to be your bible. For one week, write everything down, without making any changes to your daily routine. Once you write it down, you own it! Once that week is over, reread it and look for patterns. Then give it your spouse, your friend or someone with an honest eye and ask them to do the same. Then you can look for patterns, pitfalls and ways to improve. Keep the bible(food journal) for a few weeks after that and stick to it.

• Support

No man is an island, and no lifestyle is changed alone…so buddy up with the ones you are with the most…your co-workers. We spend most of our day with our other families. The ones we work with…so get them involved.

Agree to meet before and/or after work and walk for 10-15 minutes.

Walk at lunch.

Agree to walk to one another’s desk instead of calling or emailing.

Agree to make one another a healthy lunch and trade off during the week.

If you are stay at home, motivate your children and family. Everyone can benefit from improved awareness about healthy lifestyle changes. Once you enlist help, you make yourself accountable for their lifestyle change too. Mutual support to recognize our pitfalls and successes is key.

“Whole Fitness” means getting the most out of everything we can for a healthier lifestyle. It means looking to make healthier more efficient, smarter choices in a lot of what we are already doing. Mostly, it means being proactive in our own lives and looking for ways everyday to make improvements.

Be well - Alicia

Why Fitness Alone Isn't Good Enough

Jack LaLanne, Susan Powter, Richard Simmons, Jazzercise, Dwight Eisenhower, Pilates, Billy Blanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John F. Kennedy...

What am I getting at exactly?  Well, they are all a part of the history of fitness.

Fitness for Americans per se, became popular in the 1950's, when Eisenhower was president.  In sum, an exercise fitness test was conducted on American children to then be compared to similar tests completed in European countries.   It was the Cold War so competition was everything!

Unfortunately, we did not fare so well.  Subsequently, President Eisenhower took the first steps toward gaining national attention for the failing fitness levels of our country.  Later it was President Kennedy, another big proponent of fitness, who put it very succinctly when he stated, "Physical fitness is the basis for all other forms of excellence."

Fast Forward Half a Century...

Today the fitness industry is flooded with gyms, gizmos, gadgets, diets and other ways to do everything bigger, better and faster.  Diet and Fitness became a mutlibillion dollar industry producing such memorable  products as the "Thigh Master" and "Sweating to the Oldies" DVDs and such wonderful mantras as, "Stop the insanity!"  There is a quick fix product and diet for everyone imaginable - a marketing bombshell with no end of takers in site.

Fitness became much more about the vanity of the person than the wellness of the individual.  It was no longer about fitness being the basis for all forms of excellence.  Society became obsessed with thin & pretty vs. healthy and well.  After all, thin and pretty sells.

Now for some positive news

The well being of the whole individual seems to be refocusing.  There is a new welcomed spotlight on the whole individual's needs vs. just the pretty exterior.

More and more information is making it's way to the front line showcasing the direct connection between one's mind an one's body.  There is much more publicity directed at addressing not only the issues associated with sedentary lifestyles and being overweight but the mental and emotional influences contributing to the situation.

A good majority of fitness professionals - me included - are evolving to meet these new insights and have redirected from just training the body to training the individual as an individual. 

As always, a new slew of celebrities and famous individuals, touting the wonders of healthy lifestyle for mind, body and soul have come to the forefront.  It is no doubt that the products marketers are moving fast to catch the new wellness wave as well.  However, as a person and as a wellness professional, it is always best to keep things simple.  

Remember, fitness without a mind/emotional connection is really just going through a motion.  A chore, if you will, with no long term connection.  Fitness is a task but wellness is a lifestyle.  So, start within first to determine why you are even looking to go down the path.

As always, be well - 
Alicia    

Healthy Food Choices on the Move

Health Tourism Magazine.com
Hope you enjoy the article and as always I welcome any and all feedback. 
Be well - Alicia

Grow Your Business By Becoming a Certified Weight & Lifestyle Management Consultant

Alicia Kirschenheiter quoted by Karen Asp in the American Council on Exercise Professional publication Certified News. 

http://www.acefitness.org/cp/pdfs/CertifiedNews/FebMar10Cert.pdf