Archive for February, 2009

The long, cold, damp, sunless days. The miserable, foreboding, leafless trees. The lowly snow banks encrusted with sand and salt and all manner of icky litter.

Ohhh, February. You're the shortest month of the year. Why do you seem to go on forever?

The whole thing makes me want to curl up on my couch and watch mindless reality TV with a never-ending can of Pringles. (Do you think there is such a thing? Maybe at Costco?)

February brings me down and it's tempting to make myself feel better with food.

Apparently, cutting-edge brain imaging technology shows that we're driven to overeat to satisfy pleasure centres in our brains. How can we fight that?

Dr. Georgia Andrianopoulous has created a program to help you retrain your brain. It's detailed in her book, Retrain Your Brain, Reshape Your Body: The Breakthrough Brain-Changing Weight-Loss Plan.

For your chance to WIN a copy of Retrain Your Brain, Reshape Your Body: The Breakthrough Brain-Changing Weight-Loss Plan, just Subscribe To This Blog and leave a reply telling us what stresses you out and sends you snacking.

Maybe a tough day at work makes you reach for a bag of chips. A fight with a family member could make you turn to a sundae for solace. What gets you stressed, and what food do you find comfort in?

You have until Thursday, March 19 to let us know. I'll announce the winner here on Monday, March 23. Good luck!

The bad news: If you've been soldiering on with your healthy living habits since New Year's and you haven't hit a weight loss plateau yet, it's probably on the way.

Your plateau will come partly courtesy of brain chemicals called dynorphins, which help your body conserve fat. After all: your body is designed to conserve fat, not lose it, so chances are that at some point in your weight loss journey, your brain will panic and raise your dynophine levels to protect against further weight loss.

The good news: You can outsmart your dynorphins by eating more. "Eating more food has been shown to help bring dynorphin levels down to normal and can help get you back on track," weight-loss scientist Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney told the Brisbane Times this week.

"But it's important to eat nutritious food and eat enough to feel satisfied."

So why not get cooking with a prize pack from Scanpan? We have a 28 cm (11") Scanpan frypan to give away, along with some kitchen accessories.

The Scanpan Classic line of cookware is made of high-quality ceramic titanium that’s designed to keep its shape and eliminate hot spots when cooking. It's dishwasher-safe and ovenproof to 260 degrees Celsius. Plus, its non-stick coating can’t be damaged by metal, so you don't have to worry about which utensil to use.

For a chance to WIN, just Subscribe to This Blog and leave a reply telling us if you’ve hit a plateau yet and how you’ve handled it or how you plan to handle it when one comes your way.

You have until Thursday, March 19 to let us know. I’ll announce the winner here on Friday, March 20.

You're in!

On Day 41 of Boot Camp, we asked you to share how you're going to keep the weight off for a chance to win a copy of Judith Lederman's book Joining the Thin Club.

Congratulations to Jannine, who told us:
"I will strive to maintain a balance in my life: time for everything and always time for taking care of me. I will enjoy in moderation but will always look for ways to fit in movement. 15 minute walk at lunchtime, 30 min walk after dinner, walk to the corner store, etc. Cut out all the extra “bad and unnecessary” calories and increase my intake of water, fruits and veg. Of course, always get a good night rest."

Congratulations on joining the thin club, Jannine! I hope you enjoy your prize.

Have you tried the 'new & improved' Online Food Journal?

Log in to MyCL and check out the new version of the Online Food Journal. As always, you can record your food choices by selecting from a comprehensive list of foods — the calorie content, as well as the fibre, fat and carbs content of your selection will be automatically tracked.

But now you can also type in any food you like and type in its calorie, fibre, fat and carb count. It's a more flexible way to track what you're eating.

And when you pay attention to what you're eating, you're more likely to make healthy choices.

Spectro-tastic!

Congratulations to 'Bev Hatcher', who has won our Boot Camp Diaries Day 31 contest and will receive a fabulous Spectro HydraCare Simple, Smart Skin Care Prize Pack valued at over $250!

On Boot Camp Day 31, I asked how you reward and treat yourself without pigging out at restaurants. Bev told us:

"I like to go out to eat with my husband and sometimes my family, but I am on a different diet than they are, so I usually measure and cook my protein before we go out and I put it in a snack bag to go with me. Then my husband orders whatever he wants and I order a tossed salad with no dressing and lemon wedges on the side. I then add my protein and squeeze of lemon. I enjoy my meal knowing that I am eating healthy and I will feel better for it."

Wow. That is dedication. Thanks for inspiring us, Bev, and enjoy your prize!

Yes!

Hello fellow Campers and welcome to our final day of Boot Camp!

Time to step on the scale, whisk out the measuring tape or slip into your skinny jeans and evaluate your progress. Did you lose a few pounds? Are you down a few inches? Do your clothes feel a bit looser? Are you feeling more energetic?

Are you proud of yourself?

You should be! Six weeks is a long time to embrace a healthy lifestyle — it's long enough for habits to form and hopefully some of your healthy Boot Camp habits will become life-long routines.

Tell us about your progress, what you've achieved, and what you liked best about Boot Camp!

And don't forget to sign up for Canadian Living's Bikini Boot Camp, which launches May 4. In the meantime, the weekly Health & Wellness Club e-newsletter (which will automatically replace your daily Boot Camp e-newsletter) will bring you weekly updates on how to maintain your weight loss and healthy living habits, and the Health & Wellness Club blog will continue to help you connect with your fellow readers and bring you great contests.

Now it's time to give yourself a pat on the back and put your feet up. YOU DID IT.

If you've worked hard and lost weight but are worried about maintaining your weight loss, or if you're still adjusting to your fab new life as a thin person, Judith Lederman's book Joining the Thin Club is for you.

Tell us how you plan to keep the weight off and you could WIN a copy of Joining the Thin Club. You have until Friday, February 20 to let us know. I'll announce the winner here on Saturday, February 21.

Good luck!

On Day 32, I invited you to tell us about your favourite weight-loss celebrity for a chance to win three books from Bob Green: The Best Life Diet, The Best Life Diet Cookbook and The Best Life Diet Daily Journal.

Congratulations to ‘Becky R’, who told us:
“My fave is Jann Arden. She is our local Canadian who did it just because she wanted to be healthy. She was already a great performer, her before weight didn’t hold her back. However, when she decided it was time to be healthy, nothing could stop her.”

Enjoy living your ‘Best Life’, Becky!

That smile is a lie!

When I was chatting to Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper the other day, I was explaining to him that I'm a bit of a fatty because I'm not one of those people who like to exercise.

I told him that whenever I think about getting off the couch to workout, I involuntarily think "NO! I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT!"

Bob laughed and said, "So do I".

Wait — what? I thought he loved to exercise! He's in such great shape. I thought it was easy for some people to stay fit because they really enjoyed exercise. Somehow, these people were finding pleasure in the muscle pain, exhaustion, excessive sweating and loss of breath.

I, on the other hand, do not like those things.

But it turns out that they probably don't love it, either. "That's when resolve and self-discipline come in," said Bob. "If you're actually ready, you're going to find that gumption to get up and go to the gym."

You can tune in to The Biggest Loser Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on E!.

Waaay back on Day 8, bourgeoning Boot Campers clamoured for a chance to win Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper's book Are You Ready!

We got such a great response from the contest that I set up an interview with Bob and, on Day 29, I asked you to post your questions for Bob and I would ask him two of them.

Theresa asked:
"What is your advise for people who are trying to lose weight who have limited physical movement, and on lots of medicines that they must take?

I have MS and find if very difficult to lost weight I have lost 50 lbs but it has take over two years and still have 30 more to go…. that just doesn’t seem to want to come off.

I ride a stationary bike in the winter and go outdoors in the summer (I bike for around an hour) I no longer can walk, and I also do weights. Any advice???"

Dinah Cotter asked:
"I watched some of the Biggest Loser but like with most reality shows and talk shows etc., it is almost as if it is taboo to include persons with disabilities. It is hard for most to lose weight however when you are unable to stand and must use a wheelchair, mechanical lifts to go from wheelchair to bed etc., weight issues are very much a danger to your health. I get very frustrated with so many different ways there are suggested to lose weight and exercise to improve your health by so many, Dr. Phil etc. included. Why is it that no one wants to look at people who can’t walk or/and the elderly who cannot walk long distances, most of whom need seated exercises? I have written many with no response. I am on a limited income so even to get a YMCA membership to use the pool is not possible.

I would like to challenge Bob and anyone who will listen to offer any suggestions, and in future try to be more inclusive. However, I have heard it doesn’t sell. I think people would be surprised!!!

So my question in a nutshell is what do you suggest or what ideas do you have for wheelchair users etc."

I squished these two important questions into one and told Bob:

"We have some readers who are ready, but they're people who have limited mobility or who have multiple sclerosis or they're in a wheel chair and they're wondering what's the best way for them to approach exercise, what can they be doing?"

Here's what Bob had to say:
"Well, the normal thing that they would have to do in that situation is to talk to their doctor to see what they are actually able or capable of doing.

There are plenty of workout videos out there that cater to people, especially older people, who are in wheelchairs. But I think that when i comes to finding an exercise plan that works with someone with physical ailments, it just takes a doctors' guidance."

Hmm. I know it's frustrating that he suggests that you ask someone else, but consulting your doctor does sound like good advice. Let us know what your doctor suggests!

I also asked him Corkrose's question. Here's what she wanted to know:
"What about the weight around the middle that comes at a certain age (right 50) & no matter what eating & exercising it’s still there - how do you lose that muffin top?"

Here's Bob's response:
"Oh, that is all about diet. When you talk to people with fat in that area, it's all about what they're eating. You have to really clean up your diet. And get doing cardio! I mean, cardio would be just as important because you got to be able to burn the fat off of your body."

So there you go. Diet and cardio to trim the muffin top. Let us know how it goes!

I'll have more Q & As with Bob in tomorrow's post. You can tune in to The Biggest Loser Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on E!.