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WHY YOUR WORKOUT DOESN'T WORK...FROM SHAPE MAGAZINE

Here's an interesting article from SHAPE Magazine about reasons why your workout isn't working...check it out! 

MICHAEL PHELPS EATS 12,000 CALORIES/DAY; HEY ATHLETES: THIS MAY BE A CAUTIONARY TALE...

It’s been all over the news and the blogsphere, discussed ad nauseam, the fact that Michael Phelps, swimmer extraordinaire, resident hottie, and man who gives hope to folks with big ears everywhere, eats 12,000 calories per day (not a typo—you read it right—twelve THOUSAND calories).

Obviously as an elite athlete (really this term does nothing for him—there should be a classification for the super duper crème de la crème like Phelps, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and hot French soccer phenom Henry) Phelps trains for hours everyday—really it’s a full time job. He says he trains for 30 hours a week, assuming he takes one day off, that means he is working his body to max 5 hours/ 6 days /week. And have you seen the muscles on him—muscles burn more calories than fat. So 12,000 calories seems completely reasonable.

Okay, so why am I writing about Michael Phelps on a weight loss blog (beside the fact that I am a woman in my early 30’s whose husband has been on a business trip for 3.5 weeks and this gorgeous specimen is paraded on my television every night)? Because there are a lot of former athletes who end up being fat, and not just 15 lbs. heavier than they want to be…

There are many, many examples of this out there. You need look no further than the Nutrisystem commercials starring Dan Marino and other retired athletes. Think about “The Biggest Loser”—Matt Hoover (former all-star college wrestler), and Roger and his former teammate from the last series.

And science backs this up too, a 2003 study by Dr. Gabe Mirkin published in the Washington Times shows that former athletes are more susceptible to storing body fat once they are no longer competing compared to a sedentary non-athlete. The good news the study reported is that former athletes who continue with an active lifestyle tend not to have the weight issues.

So what can a former athlete do? May I suggest NOT taking my approach (the basic do nothing, eat everything you did while playing high school and college sports, and ignore the 8-15 pounds your pack on every year while intermittently doing half-hearted attempts at Weight Watchers, et. al.). It’s just like anything else, if you body is moving less, it needs less food.

Maybe if we viewed our bodies more like gas tanks we would eat differently? I mean, could you imagine someone driving up to a pump, filling the tank full, then continuing to let the gas flow right onto the ground (“oh, don’t worry, the car thinks it tastes really, really good and we only do this on special occasions”). The gas is wasted, just like what all that extra food is—waste—if it doesn’t end up in the toilet, it ends up on your hips, thighs, belly, back (ugh—back fat is the worst!).

Are you a former athlete? Did you gain weight after you ‘retired’?

When you have been an athlete and you gain weight there are a whole host of issues you face. Embarrassment. Trainers and other fitness professionals talking down at you like you have no idea how to walk in a straight line. A feeling of defeat. Here you are, a once uber-competitive person now considered by some to be less intelligent, less able-bodied, less of a person than ‘average’.

You may have judged overweight people before….and now you find yourself one of them. You may have a distorted body image. Over and over again I hear how people see themselves as fat still, even when they’ve lost a great deal of weight; sometimes former-athletes have the reverse problem—they don’t view themselves as fat. I can think of so many times when I weighed over 250 lbs. and I thought I looked strong and athletic and really I was not. I would see a picture of myself and say—“wow that is an exceptionally bad picture”—I would argue with the scale—this scale doesn’t work right…I would even argue with the clothing’s lines—oh, this is cut small—I’m not really an 18, a 20, a 22, or gasp a 24. But I was.

So, if you are a former athlete who has packed away the pounds it’s time to start today to train for the biggest contest of your life—just that--your life! That’s right, you are in the a battle to save your life, why live half a life or be unhappy anymore—you certainly have a competitive side—pull that bad-boy out and put it to use TODAY! And if you still an athlete, remember, training does end and you won’t be working out 2, 3, 5 hours a day forever—the food is just fuel and your body needs less and less the less you do…trust me you don’t want to have your hopes hanging on the chance you can get on the The Biggest Loser, Former Athletes Edition .

CAN THE OLYMPICS INSPIRE THE ORDINARY YOU?

Olympics shmalympics.

Or so I thought.

Olympics game? Who cares? I am no longer 9 and long to flip around like the pixie gymnasts. Friends and family send annoying e-mails "did you see the race?!" "can you believe it?!"--No, I couldn't believe adults were acting so crazy over The Olympics.

Well, that was until today. No, I wasn't bitten by a bug. But I did indeed read an article. It reminded me of what an olympian goes through, the training, the hard work, the dreams, the hopes, and how so many of those dreams and hopes are shattered. I thought of how those who lose handle themselves. I thought of the the preeminent olympics theme (well, at least for me), Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time." How I use to blast that song on my portable cassette player when I went running!

The thing is, I'm glad I'm not an olympian for one simple reason. I don't have to measure success by only ONE moment in time. I (and YOU) have a lifetime of goals and dreams and achievements that will mark our successes. They won't be the same from one year to the next. They will morph and grow as will you.

A bad day eating? Fell off the treadmill? Twisted or knee? You will have the opportunity to try again tomorrow.

Now this is something to be thankful for!

Now if you'll excuse me I have to catch the Phelps race on DVR...

YES! YES! YES! YES! I FIT INTO THE ROLLER COASTER AGAIN!

Obesity has many, many detrimental side effects: increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, joint problems, knee problems, foot problems, problems walking, heartburn, high cholesterol, back problems, increased risk for certain cancers, fertility problems--but none can take the wind out of your sails as much as not fitting into a roller coaster.

For a couple of years back there I told myself that the roller coasters I was trying to ride were more narrow than other roller coasters. And then I got to the point where I could not ride some roller coasters because I simply didn't fit in the seat, or the bar didn't go down far enough, or the belt needed an extender. Ugh.

So it was with mild trepidation that I waited in line for the new "Ravine Flyer II" at Waldameer Park & Water World in Erie, PA (incidentally the same park I worked out in my late teens and where I met hubby--he ran the "Wacky Shack"--you can't make this stuff up folks!). Would I fit in the seat? Would the belt latch easily? Would people stare? Would the bar go down or would the worker try to be polite while they pushed with all their might to close it?

I stepped into the car, easily slid into the seat, fastened the belt, pulled it taunt (18 extra inches of belt folks--a HUGE difference from the "Son of Beast" ride in Kings Island a few years back!), waited patiently for the attendant to release the lap bar to lock us in--YES-YES-YES-YES (no, I'm not sitting next to Meg Ryan) I did it, the bar goes down effortlessly, 1st click, 2nd click, 3rd click--I made it 3 clicks! We Are the Champions begins playing in my head and the next thing I know I'm deliriously happy, screaming as I go down the hill and up the next!