From the time I was in Junior High, I’ve always had a problem with our education system in America. It’s not that I didn’t think it was good, I just didn’t understand WHY individuals in society are not taught some of the “basics” of life such as managing money, basic home repair, how to understand insurance & loans, parenting, and most of all, how to eat healthy and manage one’s weight.  While mathematics, English, history, science and business are all extremely important, there seems to have always been a “void” in basic life education……UNTIL NOW!

It’s exhilarating to see what the University of Vermont and the University of Maine are doing in partnership to provide students an opportunity for basic life education in weight management!   Students at both universities can now enroll in “Vtrim for Undergrads,”  a one-credit, semester-long course based on clinical research by Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino, PhD, RD, a nationally-recognized obesity researcher.  Perhaps I’m biased, but if my child was at one of these universities, I must say I’d “REQUIRE” them to take this course so they could learn from experts how to adopt healthy eating and exercise behaviors!  What an opportunity!!!

In case you are interested in learning more about Vtrim for Undergrads, here’s what Dr. Harvey-Berino had to say about Vtrim for Undergrads, “There is a groundswell nationwide for universities to provide preventative health programming to students. It’s an ideal time in their lives to learn healthy eating behaviors for long-term health and earn college credit, too.”

So what will Vtrim for Undergrads teach students? Vtrim will arm students with the tactics and knowledge to sustainably combat weight gain through behavior modification – altering reactions to emotional and environmental stimuli through reinforcement of a new behavior, or reduction of an unhealthy behavior. The University of Vermont started offering Vtrim to students in 2009. The course counts as a nutrition or physical education credit.  The University of Maine’s first courses will run this fall and will be offered through their Lifelong Learning’s division of continuing and distance education program.

Just like many of Vtrim’s commercial and corporate programs, the entire program takes place online. Students are guided by a trained instructor and meet online weekly with their instructor for a class in which a lesson is discussed in a structured chat room. Pretty cool!

Students are asked to set goals around health or weight loss and then these goals along with their progress are tracked with online tools, including a food journal and exercise tracker. Each week, students receive individualized expert feedback on their progress.

To date, though some students sign up to lose weight, most enroll to learn healthy behaviors. Many recognize that their poor food choices and lack of exercise in college can have a detrimental effect on their overall health and nutrition. Students work with instructors to set realistic goals and establish a healthy perspective on their individual lifestyle. For students seeking to lose weight, typical weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week; 83 percent of people completing Vtrim achieve a clinically-meaningful weight loss of 5-10 percent.

Obesity continues to grow as a public health problem. Obesity prevalence is 19.1% for men and women aged 18—29 years (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2007) and obesity rates increased in 28 states in 2009 (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).

Long story short, by offering “Vtrim for Undergrads,” these two universities have figured out one way to truly enhance how they can teach and empower young adults in this day and age to walk away prepared to enter the “real world” in a balanced and well rounded manner so they can stay healthy and potentially live longer because of what they learned in their undergraduate education!  Now, that’s making a DIFFERENCE!!!!

http://www.flickr.com

May is National Bike month and I hate to state the obvious, but how better to celebrate than to get outside and go for a ride?  For many of us, our bike riding days ended the moment we got a driver’s license and a car.  Biking doesn’t have to be a hobby of the past however, so this May get out and enjoy all that a bike ride has to offer.

Biking to work is a great way to incorporate exercise into your day.  Not only can biking to work allow you to arrive feeling energetic and ready to take on the day, but it can also save time, money, and it’s good for the environment.  Imagine how much better you will feel arriving to work without having to deal with the bumper-to-bumper traffic that often accompanies a morning commute.

Riding doesn’t just have to be a form of transportation though.  Celebrate National Bike Month with a family ride!  Bike with the kids to school in the morning or just go for a leisurely weekend ride.  Take advantage of bike paths and parks in your area to avoid having to deal with traffic.

Check out local events celebrating Bike Month.  Many cities offer family bike tours, free bike tune-ups, bike sales, classes, and races.   Go to bikeleague.org for ideas on how to get events started in your area.

Dust off those handlebars, pump of those tires, and get out there for a bike ride!

Have you always wondered how to optimize your heart rate for the most efficient workout?

Are you dying to try “Sunset Yoga by Campfire”?

If so, then you should check out Women’s Fitness Weekend at Camp Abnaki in North Hero, Vermont.  A retreat designed for women who want to start taking better care of themselves, have more fun and enjoy life to its fullest, Women’s Fitness Weekend is your opportunity to take some time for YOU!

Envision yourself at a majestic lake setting where women are gathered to find friendship and camaraderie. You’ll find days filled with invigorating exercise classes like Body Pump, boot camp, Zumba, and kayaking mixed with workshops on stress management, Brainwalk-Breakthrough, mindfulness, and more. Add to this an evening ending with gentle and relaxing yoga by a warm, hypnotizing bonfire, and retiring to bed with your mind and body both feeling fulfilled. What could make you feel better?!?

Vtrim® and the Greater Burlington YMCA are teaming up to offer this weekend fitness getaway at Camp Abnaki on Lake Champlain Friday, June 11-Sunday June 13, 2010.

At Women’s Fitness Weekend you can expect…

·         New Group Fitness Activities

·         Sunset Yoga by Campfire

·         Informative classes that will help you get the most out of your workout

·         A beautiful Lake Champlain Setting

·         An opportunity to get away and jumpstart your summer fitness goals

To learn more about the program, the instructors, and the facilities at Camp Abnaki, visit us at http://www.uvm.edu/vtrim/fitness/

To register for Women’s Fitness Weekend, go to:

http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=852461

For further questions or to register by phone, contact Andrea Ziga, Vtrim Program Planner, at 802.656.1425 or email her at andrea.ziga@uvm.edu.

We hope you’ll join our Vtrim retreat this summer at Camp Abnaki!

What’s vtrim and what have I experienced first-hand?

Vtrim is a researched-based weight management program that’s home-grown on the campus of University of Vermont (my alma mater). The vtrim researchers have been obtaining NIH research grants for nearly a decade and have slowly accumulated the research which makes the case that online chat-based weight management can be successful. The research continues, but now vtrim is available to anyone in the world wide community who wants to lose pounds and change their lifestyle for good.

Two years ago I heard about vtrim. About a year ago I became a trained facilitator (health care professionals with weight control coaching skills). I admit I was a doubting Thomas but I ventured in because I was curious and know we need cost effective and easily accessible ways to help people succeed at lifestyle change. But I wondered, how could a weekly online chat for an hour (no phone connection),  a weekly journal review and comments, and e-mails, create a community in which people could find success?

In November I began my first vtrim group. Food and exercise guidelines and goals as well as online journaling are core program elements. On the weekly chats we’d debrief about the week, focus in on a topic surrounding behavior change and offer lots of support.  Twenty-four weeks later, mid April, my first group ended. All I can say is WOW and YES!

After a few short weeks my group came together as a community. Sure we lost a few members along the way (that’s true for in-person programs).  Weight losses ranged from less than 10 pounds to greater than 30, but we didn’t focus on pounds lost on chats at all.  Suffice to say participants who really “worked the program”; managed their food intake by cutting calories and fat, ate more fruits and vegetables, etc; upped their calorie burn with exercise, religiously (or almost) kept journals; did very well. Others struggled initially but during the middle of the program began to “get it” – this was about making long term permanant lifestyle changes.

Insights shared during our weekly chat were inspiring to all. Support was contagious. And I was relentless with my missives about what’s entailed in long term weight management and it that it WILL be a long term battle. Vtrim is not a diet, it’s about creating and cementing new healthy behaviors -  permanent lifestyle changes.

Bottomline: Research shows us that the people who do best in weight management programs take advantage of the tools and community aspects of programs (whether live or online). As well, research shows us the longer the program and the longer people are engaged the more weight they will lose. And if we are going to help the millions of people who are overweight or obese and at risk or with weight-related health issues, we’re going to have to use and maximize the technologies at our fingertips. Vtrim is just one solution.

Yes, I’m sold and I’ll be facilitating more groups. Hear more from two women blogging about their vtrim weight loss journeys: healthylosergal.com and puff2buff.com.

• Plan in advance: Instead of wandering the aisles of the grocery stores aimlessly, make a list before you head to the store.  Take the time over the weekend to decide what you would like for dinner for the week and jot down all the ingredients you will need.

• Start small: Although your family would undoubtedly appreciate a gourmet meal every night, planning and executing daily feasts is a bit too ambitious.  Browse through cookbooks or recipes online to find meals that are pleasing to the eye, nutritious and easy to prepare.  This will give you a better idea of what’s realistic time-wise and you can adjust your meal planning accordingly.  One-pot meals or dishes that have several food groups in one item are a great option for more convenient, less extravagant meals.

• Manage your time: Don’t limit your appointment book to penciling in meetings, social engagements, and kids’ sporting events.  Jot down what meals you are planning on preparing each night.  Save the meals that require more prep time for days when you have more free time to ensure that your busy schedule doesn’t interfere with your meal planning.

• Cook ahead of time: If your schedule doesn’t permit you to cook something from scratch every evening, don’t be deterred and resort to hitting the speed dial button for the local pizza place.  If you know you have a busy week then prepare a couple of meals over the weekend and freeze some for later in the week. Our last blog post was all about make-ahead meals, a great way to do some advanced meal planning.

• Learn to love leftovers: All your hard work on a special meal doesn’t have to be enjoyed for one night only.  Leftovers can be refrigerated and eaten later in the week or used to create an entirely new meal.  You can even double the recipe if you are feeding a large family to make sure that there will be leftovers.

• Be flexible: Cooking should be an enjoyable activity.  Don’t get so caught up in the planning to the point it becomes a rigid routine or a burden.

Advance planning can take the stress out of mealtime and make it easier to stick to a healthy diet.  So grab a cookbook and start thinking about this week’s menu.

It can be challenging to come up with the answer to the daily “what’s for dinner?” question after a long day at work, running a household, going to school, or whatever it is that fills your day. I completely understand! The answer for me has been to dedicate one day every 2-3 months for freezer cooking. I’ve found it is much easier for me to commit one full day to cooking and get the task out of the way than to have to whip up meals from scratch day in and day out.

So that nobody gets the mistaken idea that I am an expert in freezer cooking or batch cooking, let me just throw my disclosure out there.  First, I do enjoy cooking and am capable of putting together a nice meal, but I am by no means a chef, so my meals aren’t glamorous. They are about convenience, saving time, and saving money. Second, because I do have a degree in nutrition and food science, I know a bit about food safety and I will say that one of the biggest challenges of batch cooking is making sure you keep everything within safe temperature ranges and get prepared dishes cooled and frozen within a safe window of time. Remember, food safety is critical—a freezer full of meals doesn’t help anyone if they are laced with food-borne illnesses. And finally, you can do freezer meals in several ways—there isn’t a right or wrong way to go about it. Just find what works for you:

1) Go at it on your own: Some people spend the day batch cooking all on their own. Others simply double or triple their dinner meal, cook one, and freeze the rest for other meals. Within a few days you’ll have a stash of meals to choose from.

2) Form a group: Form a freezer meal group and each person in the group makes multiple batches of 1-2 favorite recipes. Then they get together and swap the meals they made so they have a big variety of freezer meals.

3) My personal approach: My approach is based on the fact that if I am going to spend an ENTIRE day cooking, I don’t want to do it alone. I’m too social for that! I enjoy having friends to chat with while we work. So my freezer meal group of 5 women picks out 10-12 recipes and makes 10 “batches” of each recipe. We spend the day cooking at one member’s house and each member goes home at the end of the day with 20-24 meals (2 of each different recipe).

Freezer cooking takes a lot of organization. Your first time you may want to prepare fewer recipes until you get comfortable with the process. I’ve listed out a few tips as you get started on group freezer cooking.

• Begin with planning out the recipes you will prepare and the shopping list for the number of batches you plan to make.  Consider group preferences and allergies when deciding on the menu and shopping list. For example, one of my group members has a strong opinion about which brand of spaghetti sauce to use. Another group member has walnut allergies in her family and can’t have those in her recipes.

• Plan out dishes with adequate servings for each group member’s family. Groups work best with members who have similar-sized families. Our group knows that each dish must serve 5-6.

• Have group members present their favorite menu ideas and then take a vote on which dishes to prepare. Freezer meals with a group aren’t very productive if you end up with meals you won’t eat!

• Keep in mind foods that don’t freeze well when preparing your menu. For information on how to freeze foods and what doesn’t freeze well, visit http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/gen_freeze.html.

• Choose a host/hostess for each freezer cooking day. The host prepares the shopping list, does the main shopping, and provides the kitchen for the cooking day. Plan for another member to be the support shopper—buying a lot of food in one trip is difficult for one person to do!

• Don’t forget non-food items on your shopping list. You’ll need to figure out which meals will be frozen in Ziploc freezer bags, disposable aluminum pans, or reusable freezer containers (great for soups and stews that just need reheating). You’ll need plenty of heavy-duty foil (cuts down on frost), plastic wrap, and sharpies for labeling meals (if you’re really organized, you can pre-print sticky labels with meal names and cooking instructions).

• Plan for prep work! Any prep work you can do BEFORE the big cooking day will save a lot of time. Pre-cut, pre-cook, pre-cube, pre-shred any chicken, meat, cheese, and veggies that you can. Assign out prep work to each member of the group. (Quick tip–Crockpots are an excellent way to pre-cook large amounts of chicken or meat!)

• Plan a quick and easy lunch for your freezer cooking day. After all that hard work, you don’t want to fret over what’s for lunch! Our group has one member pick up a simple sandwich or salad from a local deli for everyone. Then we can eat lunch together without creating more work or mess.

Ready to give it a try? There’s a lot of great websites and recipes out there. Try doing an online search for terms like “freezer cooking” “freezer meals” or “once a month cooking.” Or, cruise on over to our Facebook page for some freezer meal recipes to get you started! You can find my page and some new recipes at http://www.facebook.com/heather.vtrim.

Check the nutrition facts: Sure, that label on the back of your favorite snack may seem overwhelming, but it can be a great way to determine how healthy your snack is.  Just stick with the basic facts needed for weight management: the serving size, number of calories per serving, and how many servings there are in a bag.  Servings are often much smaller than we are accustomed to, so what looks like a small number of calories at first glance may add up very quickly after a couple of handfuls.

Watch those portions: Snacks that come prepackaged in 100-calorie bags are a simple new way to keep tabs on how many calories you are consuming.  But if your favorite snack food doesn’t offer this, don’t be afraid to create your own portion-controlled bags.  Snack-size storage bags are a great option for portioning out your own snacks and allow you the flexibility of creating pre-measured snacks from the foods you enjoy rather than spending the money on whatever the latest 100-cal pack trend is.

Traditional isn’t always better: As I mentioned before, the idea of snacking can lead many to salivate over the thought of pretzels, chips, and fatty dips.  Instead of restricting yourself to these classic snack foods, branch out and try something less conventional.  Whether it’s a small portion of last night’s leftovers, a few raw nuts, or a small salad, these work as snacks, too.

Don’t overdo it: Snacking can be a great way to stave off hunger between meals, which can prevent overindulging when you do sit down for a real meal.  It’s important to remember that calories are calories, whether eaten in small amounts or at mealtime, so try to avoid the pitfall of turning a snack into a mini-meal.  A reasonable goal for a snack is to consume between 100-200 calories, depending on what your daily total calorie goal is.

You can’t go wrong with fruits and vegetables: Whether it’s an apple, grapes, carrot sticks or celery, fruits and vegetables are a great way to fill up without weighing you down.  If plain old raw vegetables don’t excite your taste buds, try them with some hummus or low fat dip to give them some more flavor.  As for the fruit, pair it up with a small amount of peanut butter or cheese to satisfy your sweet and salty cravings.

Snacking can be extremely beneficial, but it requires some thought.  Get creative and snack right.

• Fill up on vegetables!  Healthy vegetables are low in calories and packed with fiber, which will help you feel full without packing on the pounds.  Keep things interesting by preparing your vegetables in different ways like steamed, sautéed, or roasted.  Try to stay away from creamy dressings or dips when preparing salads or vegetable side dishes.

• Don’t resort to junk food.  It can be a bit daunting at times to find satisfying vegetarian options so many resort to prepackaged snacks or meals.  Cooking something yourself is the best way to ensure that you aren’t consuming unnecessary empty calories.  If you don’t have time to prepare something yourself, look for healthy prepared options in the grocery store instead of ordering out for a large veggie pizza.

• Opt for whole grains.  It’s important that as a vegetarian you continue to get 45-65% of your daily calories from carbohydrates.  Remember that not all carbohydrates are created equal though and choosing whole grains will help you feel full longer, not to mention the added health benefits of eating whole grains.

• Get enough protein.  Banning meats from your diet doesn’t mean you have to miss out on high quality protein.  Incorporate vegetarian protein sources like beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, tofu and other soy products into your diet.  High protein foods will satisfy hunger cravings and keep you feeling full.

• Check the nutrition facts.  Just because it’s vegetarian and healthy doesn’t mean that it is good for your waistline.  Moderation is key when it comes to nutrient dense foods like hummus and nuts which are very healthy, but high in calories.

• Don’t go overboard on the fruits.  Fruits are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth, but many are high in sugar and will leave you feeling hungry if they are low in fiber.  Choose fresh fruits instead of fruit juice or fruits canned in sugary syrups.

Going vegetarian can have many health benefits and with these simple tips it can be good for your waistline, too.

Facilitator Name: Sally Ross Nolan

Education/background: M.S. from St. Michael’s College in VT.  I worked for years in several counseling/education positions at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.  My day job for the past 11 years or so is at The Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at UVM doing research studies.  I’ve been a Vtrim facilitator since 2006.

Years experience in health area: 30ish years (where’d the time go?!)

Favorite form of exercise: snow shoeing in the winter, tennis in warm weather

Favorite meal or snack: tamari almonds

My top 5 favorite foods: Chocolate-need you ask?, Tofu-there’s so much you can do with it and it can be put together quickly,  my mother’s chicken salad- pure comfort food,  turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving (and don’t tell, but I use white bread this one time).

What do you enjoy about facilitating Vtrim weight management groups? It’s a privilege for me to witness people taking hold of their life and making positive changes.  And it’s fun-we laugh a lot!

If you had a day to do whatever you wanted, how would you spend it? Working with a documentary film crew

What is one of the most common hurdles you see people face in changing behaviors and what are 1-2 things you find helpful for overcoming that hurdle? Negative self talk can keep people stuck..  It takes awareness and then conscious practice to change an attiude/belief AND it can be done.  Replace negative thoughts with a positive ones.  And if you’re not there yet-”fake it till you make it”.

One thing you would love to do in the future/personal goal for the future: Spend more time doing photography

Any favorite tip you love to share about behavior change: Just keep learning from each challenge and keep getting “back on the horse”.

Interested in one of Sally’s classes? She’ll be teaching on Tuesdays beginning later this month. Check out our schedule at http://www.uvm.edu/vtrim/register/

source: www.hopewarshaw.com

In the era of the Biggest Loser, the ante for pounds to expect to loose per week has gone up, not that the number ever approached realistic, even before Biggest Loser. People have long had unrealistic expectations for weekly loss – 3, 5, 10 pounds – fed by overpromising diets. Simply AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN if you’re following a sane and sensible weight loss plan!

Experts suggest that 1 to 2 pounds per week is realistic. And this weight loss won’t be steady week after week. Some weeks, particularly at the beginning of your efforts, you’ll lose more weight more easily. Then it will slow…and perhaps halt, or plateau, a week or two. Then, if you hang in, put the strategies into action, the pounds will once again fall off…slowly. Yes, losing weight takes stick to it-ness and a commitment to changing your ways forever!

What does the research say about how much weight you can expect to loose and how to get maximal weight loss for your efforts?

• Expect to lose the majority of pounds by six months to a year into your effort and in the end expect to lose about 5 to 7% of your body weight (ex: about 10 to 20 pounds for someone starting at 200 pounds). Understandable, this magnitude of weight loss, or lack thereof, likely falls shy of your desire. But keep front and center that myriad health benefits can be derived from melting away minimal pounds – lower blood pressure and blood glucose, improve lipid profile (blood fats), decrease sleep problems, increase energy level, and more.
• Research shows that you’ll increase the amount of weight you lose by:
  1. being engaged in and attending (not just signed up for) a sane and proven successful weight loss program which offers interactive components: working with a trained facilitator (in person or online), and attending regular meetings, weighing and measuring foods at least on occasion, keeping food and exercise diary, etc. (Check out Log On to Log Off ).
  2. reducing your calorie intake and putting an emphasis on trimming the amount of fat you eat.
  3. engaging in regular (at least five days a week) physical activity.

Then the real work begins…expect to have to fight hard to keep these 10 to 20 pounds off. Studies shows that the body’s goal is to put that extra padding right back on. Even when studies continue to offer at least some interaction with a health care professional over one, two or more years; people gain weight back towards their starting weight. And this is even truer if you’ve been up and down the scale once or twice. Why? One factor, among several, may be the energy gap for maintaining weight loss. Research shows that energy requirements decrease proportionally with a decrease in body weight. Calorie needs are thus lower after you lose weight (true, you can’t eat as many calories as you used to, even when you were at the lower weight). Unfortunately, as people gain weight research shows there are metabolic changes that occur. These work to keep you overweight.

Though these words are hard to read, keep in mind that studies show being in the negative column by even a few pounds can help you stay healthier today and many tomorrows. An important reminder: the average American is gaining one to two pounds of weight per year. So, view your weight loss, even if it feels and is minimal, as a huge achievement…and factor in those two pounds a year you didn’t gain.

So let me be crystal clear. You will need to commit to permanently changing your eating habits and become more physically active to have a fighting chance at keeping lost weight at bay. The sooner you get your head around this difficult to digest concept the better you will set yourself up for success. There is no such thing as “off diet.”

Research with people who have lost weight and kept if off for years shows these keys to keeping lost weight off for the long haul (learnings from the National Weight Control Registry):

• Watch your calories in and keep the fat gram count trimmed.
• Eat breakfast daily.
• Get regular and significant physical activity (60-90 min/day)
• Zero in on an approach that works for you.
• Minimize sedentary behavior eg TV watching
• Keep food and activity journals – this makes you accountable.
• Weigh yourself regularly and have a relapse prevention plan to implement if you gain a couple of pounds
• Maintain regular support.

It’s time to redefine realistic expectations for weight loss, be honest about the challenges of keeping those pounds at bay and, on the plus side, recognize how few pounds you need to shed to make a BIG difference in your health and longevity.

*This is a guest blog post by Vtrim Facilitator Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, BC-ADM. We appreciate Hope bringing her expertise and knowledge to the Vtrim blog as well as our Vtrim Online program. To view Hope’s website and learn more about her, go to http://www.hopewarshaw.com/