FitSugar

You Asked: Rude Comments While Running Outside

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Dear Fit,
I just started running and am quickly becoming addicted. I'm not exactly thin (which is why I started running), and just about every time I head out for a run, I hear rude comments from people on the street. People scream out of cars, from their porches, and I've even heard little kids yell from the school bus. They say hurtful things such as, "Run, fatty, run," and "Are you running to McDonald's?" It's not just the comments, it's the stares too. I can't afford to join a gym, but this makes me not want to run outside. What should I do?
-Hurt but Determined Debbie

First of all, I think it is great that you have started running. I have found it the most convenient and effective form of exercise for weight loss. You have decided to do something healthy for yourself and should be applauded for your effort. I think it is really a shame that people are so disrespectful to you. I'm sure many of our readers can also relate to impolite or downright offensive comments from others. I have some suggestions, though. To hear them

Run with headphones. Play music or a book on tape to drown out any comments.
Put your anger to good use and run faster.
Run in a less populated area. I'm not saying you should go to a sketchy abandoned parking lot, but city streets are always crowded with cars and pedestrians. Find a quiet neighborhood, a park, a bike bath, or even the woods. Run with a buddy to help you feel more safe.
Run at a different time of day. Early morning, noon, and after work are times when most people are free, so that means you'll be seeing more people outside. If you can, workout mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Since most people are at their jobs, there should be fewer people out on the streets to bother you.
Whatever you do, don't give the person any of your attention. Don't look at them, don't say anything smart back (though I know you want to), don't flip them the bird, and definitely don't run up to them and give them a piece of your mind. They're mostly doing it to get a rouse out of you anyway, so if you let them know you're upset, they're more likely to continue the comments in the future.

Remember, you are the person out there running. These folks are probably just sitting in their cars doing nothing while you're burning calories. You're doing something great for yourself and to that I say, keep on trucking!

If you have any other suggestions for Debbie, please share them in the comment section below.

Source

Why Running Isn't Helping You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:30:56 PDT

You started running months ago, yet every time you hop on the scale, you're let down by the results. What gives? While running does burn mega calories, here are some reasons you may not be seeing the weight-loss results you're after.

Postrun Pig-Outs
Burning tons of calories can cause a famished feeling afterward, but it's important to fuel wisely. Choose junk food as your recovery food and not only are you overdoing it on the calorie front, you'll be hungry again in the next hour. Although a postrun snack is essential, make sure it's packed with protein and filling carbs, and do not exceed 150 calories. If you exercised before a meal, enjoy a sensibly portioned plate, and don't go overboard as a way to reward your efforts. If you still find you're utterly famished after a workout, it probably means you need to fuel up before you exercise, so enjoy one of these pre-workout snacks before heading out for a run.

You Don't Run Enough
If you're running and not seeing results, take a look at your calendar. Doing one 45-minute run once a week, or a couple 20-minute runs won't burn enough calories to lose weight. In order to lose a pound a week, you'll need to ditch 500 calories each day, through a combination of diet and exercise. If losing weight is your goal, run three to four times per week and incorporate other forms of calorie-burning cardio on the other days.

Keep reading to find out why running isn't helping you lose weight.

Nighttime Fasting: A New Way to Lose Weight?

Shape — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:09:52 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian with master's degrees in both nutrition science and public health.

If you couldn’t let anything cross your lips from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., but you were allowed to eat anything you wanted for eight hours a day and still lose weight, would you try it? That’s the apparent bottom line of a rat study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, which recently stirred up the weight loss pot.

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Scientists put groups of mice on different diet regimens for 100 days. One group of rodents ate healthy food while animals in two of the groups chowed down on high-fat, high-calorie feed. Half of the junk food eaters were allowed to munch whenever they wanted to while the others only had access to feed for the eight hours they were most active. The conclusion: even though they ate a fatty diet, the mice who were forced to fast for 16 hours were almost as lean as those who ate the healthy fare. Interestingly, the round the clock junk food eaters became obese and developed health problems, even though they consumed about the same amount of fat and calories as the time-restricted junk food fed mice.

See if a nutritionist thinks nighttime fasting works after the break!

A Reader Shares How She Lost the Stubborn Last 5 Pounds

Fit Community — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:32:40 PDT

FitSugar reader spacekatgal shared this inspiring story of how she dropped those last five pounds during her weight-loss journey. She posted her tip in the RunningSugar community group.

Hey everybody. I realize this doesn't fall under, "Overshare," but I used to be amazingly overweight - 268 pounds, in fact. It's been a long time, like eight years, but there's still residual damage to my body - a really stubborn last 5 pounds.

I had tried absolutely everything to lose it. I have starved myself, I've upped my mileage, I've worked out to the point of exhaustion. I have added tennis and biking onto the end of my workout. Nothing. It took a random bout with food poisoning to teach me what I was doing wrong.

You see, because I used to be overweight, I had a ton of fear in me about my daily run. I never miss it, unless I am so sick I physically cannot complete. Fear is what keeps me skinny, and fear caused me to do the same workout every day - seven miles for an hour at seven miles-per-hour.

Find out which workout helped her lose the last five pounds after the break!

The Rise of Weight Watchers in the 1960s

Annie Scudder — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:42 PDT

This week on Mad Men's "Dark Shadows" episode, Weight Watchers serves as a type of therapy for Betty Francis, who can definitely use it. Boredom, jealousy, and insecurity dominate Betty's life as a 1960s housewife on her second marriage, and she's turned to bags of Bugles to pass the time. Now determined to lose the weight, the former model turns to a new diet plan gaining popularity with women like her, Weight Watchers. Considering Betty's mother-in-law already tried to push diet pills on her, which contained amphetamines at the time, the group meetings are the responsible approach to weight loss for Betty Francis.

If you think Weight Watchers was a phenomenon of the '80s or remember Duchess Sara Ferguson as its spokeswoman in the '90s, you may have been surprised to see Betty attending meetings way back in the '60s. Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers, got the idea for the weight-loss method after struggling herself to lose and keep off weight with diets and pills. Jean, who had weighed as much as 214 pounds, lost 20 with a diet prescribed by the New York City Board of Health, but couldn't keep it off. So in 1961, she decided to hold meetings with other women facing the same issues with weight at her home in Queens, NY. By Oct. 1962, she had lost 72 pounds.

Thanks to her success, Jean's meetings took off, and she went from having them every week to multiple times a day. She soon recruited other group leaders, like the one we saw running Betty Francis's meetings, who had previously lost weight with the program and continued to keep it off. In 1963, Jean and her husband Marty incorporated the business, and by 1965, they exported the franchises to Canada, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, and Israel, with 102 in total. Changes would come in the '70s, with a psychologist coming on and exercise being introduced, and in 1978 the company was purchased for $100 million by another brand featured this season on Mad Men: H.J. Heinz.

In 2010, Weight Watcher's founder published her autobiography, The Jean Nidetch Story: An Autobiography, which came after her 1972 book The Story of Weight Watchers. The autobiography is described as the story of Jean's "personal struggles, rags-to-riches rise, and sunny, can-do attitude." If only Betty had a hint of a sunny disposition. Instead, her all-consuming jealousy is casting dark shadows.

Photo courtesy of AMC

3 Ways to Say Goodbye to Belly Fat

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:53:32 PDT

A nutritious diet and regular exercise have helped you reach your weight loss goal, but you're still trying to get rid of that little extra pooch around your midsection. Here are three things you can do every week to help you achieve a trimmer belly.

When eating: Take an honest look at your diet and your bathroom schedule. Your belly might not be caused by fat, but by air trapped in your digestive system. If you're not getting enough fiber (you need 25 to 30 grams a day), constipation can cause bloating. Here are some common reasons women don't get enough fiber and how to overcome them. On the other hand, overdoing it on fiber or eating too many gas-producing foods like broccoli, apples, or beans can also make your belly stick out. There are also foods you can eat, like blueberries, that are proven to diminish belly fat, so be sure to include these five fat-blasting foods in your diet.
When doing cardio: Studies show that including interval training in your cardio sessions is proven to diminish belly fat. If you find that you normally stick to a consistent pace when running, biking, or swimming, mix it up by adding 10- to 60-second fast-paced or sprinting intervals.
When strength training: Basic crunches can help tone your abs, but they only target certain abdominal muscles. Incorporate full-body exercises like side planks as well as balancing moves on a ball or on one leg to target all the muscles in your core.

5 Fitness Myths That Mess With Results

Prevention — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:31:20 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Jenna Bergen, Prevention

With so many people offering advice on weight loss, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. All too often I’ve overheard a hardworking gym-goer sharing a well-meaning but ill-informed tip with another exerciser. And I’m not the only one who’s heard fitness folklore being swapped on the training room floor. I spoke to top experts in the field to find out the common fitness myths they hear from clients. From the pseudo miracles of the "fat-burning" zone to the misguided magic of working out on an empty stomach, these fitness falsehoods should never be followed.

Nine Exercise Moves You're Doing Wrong

Myth No. One: Keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone

If you've been exercising at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate in order to shed flab faster, you could be slowing your slim down. "The fat-burning zone is a complete myth," says Wayne Westcott, PhD, Prevention advisory board member and fitness research director at Quincy College. "While it's true that you burn a higher percentage of fat calories when exercising at a moderate pace, you burn fewer calories overall." For instance, if you get on a treadmill and walk at a 3.5 mph pace for 30 minutes, you might burn 250 calories. If you raise the speed to seven miles per hour, you’d burn 500. Bottom line? "It’s much better to go at the faster speed." Prefer the elliptical trainer? Make sure you're not making one of the top 10 elliptical trainer mistakes.

Myth No. Two: Boosting cardio is the best way to bypass a plateau

"The most effective way to lose weight is to include both cardio and weights in your routine," says Jari Love, star of the Get Extremely Ripped: 1000 Hardcore DVD. "One study found that when individuals cycled for 30 minutes a day, they lost three pounds of fat and gained a half pound of muscle in eight weeks. But individuals who cycled for 15 minutes and weight trained for 15 minutes a day lost 10 pounds of fat and gained two pounds of calorie-burning muscle."

Try This Workout to Drop Two Sizes by Summer!

Keep reading! We bust three more myths after the break.

3 Ways Going Vegan Helps You Lose Weight, 3 Ways It Makes You Gain

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:24:16 PDT

Celebs like Alicia Silverstone, Alanis Morissette, and Olivia Wilde all benefit from a vegan diet - now add actress Mischa Barton to the list. The 26-year-old actress showed off her slim and healthy figure on the set of Oasis singer Noel Gallagher's new music video. Mischa told Us Weekly, "I've been running like three miles a day," and added she also loves juice cleanses and vegan food.

Vegan diets are becoming more associated with weight loss these days, and while omitting animal-derived products like meat, dairy, and eggs can help achieve weight loss, going vegan doesn't instantly drop pounds from the scale. Check out how ditching animal products from your diet can help you lose weight, but how it can also cause you to gain.

How a Vegan Diet Encourages Weight Loss

Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, sausages, barbecue chicken, ribs - meat tends to be high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and waist-expanding calories. In comparison, meat-free alternatives like tofu, veggie burgers, tempeh, and seitan are much lower in calories, but still high in protein, making them diet-friendly foods.
Butter, whole milk, and cheese are also high on the caloric scale, and if you're ditching them, that means skipping out on a slice at the pizzeria down the street and saying no to a cone at the local ice cream parlor. Of course there are still plenty of vegan alternatives to dairy products, but as long as you're not overindulging in them, you'll most likely still lose weight.
Going vegan encourages eating a primarily plant-based diet, which includes tons of veggies like kale, carrots, broccoli, and spinach. They're low in calories and high in fiber, so they make you feel full without busting the calorie bank. And since your hunger is satiated, you'll end up consuming less calories throughout the day.

Keep reading to find out how a vegan diet can lead to weight gain.

3 Machines That Help Burn Fat Faster

Self — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:35:17 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

There are the run-of-the-mill, hop-on-the-elliptical-machine-for-20-minutes cardio workouts, then there are the kick-butt, leave-you-breathless cardio workouts that practically melt fat off the body. Which would you prefer to do?

Trainer Jeff Halevy, CEO of Halevy Life in New York City, is an expert at helping clients shed unwanted layers of fat fast. To make sure you're maximizing the fat-burning effect of your workout, it might be time to give your cardio routine a makeover. (Bonus: head over to Self.com to get more of Jeff's fat-loss tips - he dishes on the scientific cheats to a sexy, healthy body in record time. Grab your copy now!)

"The biggest takeaway about using any type of cardio machine is that it will be most beneficial to fat loss if high-intensity intervals are utilized, and if either weight lifting or lighter, steady-state cardio is done immediately after - yes, after. This is not a recipe for maximal muscle growth but is the recipe for maximal fat loss," Jeff says.

Check out these top three cardio machines that will give you the most fat-loss bang for your buck at the gym, and cheats on how to make sure you're using them properly, after the break.

From the Community: Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Activity

Fit Community — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:39:22 PDT

Not sure what the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activity is? In our Get Fit For 2012 group, FitSugar reader meetcasey explains what each term means and why we should be doing both.

Aerobic exercise requires the body to utilize oxygen to create energy. With anaerobic exercise, the body creates energy without extra oxygen - your body relies on its natural chemicals to create energy.

Learn the benefits of each, after the break!