Proud to be an American X MTH does not like the treadmill!

After almost 20 years of using the OUTDATED food pyramid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USDA_Food_Pyramid.gif) as the standard way of eating, the USA finally changes to a more sensible, healthier, and easier to understand diagram - My Plate ( www.choosemyplate.gov).

This was brought to my attention during our nutrition class at boot camp (thx Murphy). For months, we would draw a similar plate but half our plate is veggies and we eat our fruit at a different time. Maybe another 5-10 years from now they’ll catch on to that. Nonetheless, this is a huge step in the right direction for America.

If you look at the food pyramid you can see that largest intake of calories came from “Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta Group”. However, it did not distinguish the type of bread, cereal, etc. One of the main reasons for the sky-rocketing increase in obesity rates have been from the large consumption of the these foods in a highly processed state. White bread, white pasta, white rice, and sugary cereals are the main causes for many bulging waist lines. Like I tell my clients, “If it’s white, it’s not right!”

However, with My Plate it specifies the type of grains one should consume – whole wheat flour, bulgur, whole cornmeal, etc. And, it specifies to refrain from eating the white/refined grains. Listen to this:

“Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins.”

And…

“Most refined grains are enriched. This means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. Fiber is not added back to enriched grains. Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is included in the grain name. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.”

There are few other notable differences such as increasing fruits and veggies and decreasing meat and dairy products.

It is refreshing to see America finally catch up to rest of the world when it comes to eating healthy.


X


MTH does not like the treadmill!

Yes, you read that correctly. At times I speak in the third person, as I’m sure you do as well. How can a personal trainer not enjoy using the most popular machine in the gym?? Something must be wrong! He must not like cardio.

Au contraire, when it comes to cardio it is important to do something you enjoy. If you do not enjoy what you’re doing it is very unlikely you’ll do it again and will see RESULTS. You’ll rarely see me running aimlessly but you will see me on the basketball court, tennis court, performing hill sprints, bike riding, etc. I can probably do those for hours on end. But, get me on a treadmill or an elliptical and l I’ll want to hop off within the first 5 minutes.

There was a time that Tae-Bo was the “it’ thing to-do because it was fun and people saw results. Nowadays, we have Boot Camps, P90X, Zumba, and the latest craze Bikram Yoga (deodorant required).

Whatever cardio exercises you choose make sure it’ll help you reach your goal and most importantly that its FUN!

Yours in health,

Marcus