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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!

photo source: http://exercise.about.com website

For many of us, having to go to a gym to exercise is an all too easy excuse to skip a workout.  Don’t get me wrong; gyms can be a great way to get fit.  For some people, however, gyms serve more as a deterrent than a means.  Regardless of the reasoning, you needn’t be discouraged and give up on working out altogether.  Working out at home can be just as effective as going to the gym.  In fact, research has shown that having home-based exercise plans and equipment, along with dividing your workouts into short increments several times a day, can add up to greater long-term commitment to exercise and weight management. The most important thing to remember when it comes to working out at home though is to choose something that works best for you.  The following are some of my favorite home-based workout ideas.

1.  Cardio Equipment: When entering a gym, you will undoubtedly observe numerous pieces of equipment intended for aerobic exercise.  These machines range from treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers, and others too numerous to name.  Though it is a bit of an investment, purchasing a piece of equipment like this for your home can seriously pay off in the long run in terms of your health…if you use it.  I personally recommend a treadmill or elliptical machine.  Using a treadmill allows you to walk for a less intense workout or turn up the speed and incline for an intense cardio workout.  An elliptical is a good alternative to the treadmill because it allows you to get a good cardio workout without putting as much stress on your joints.

2.  Free weights, medicine balls, and balance balls: This can be a great way to strengthen and tone and requires very little space.  Start out with a small assortment of varying weights and add to your collection as you discover more exercises or increase your resistance. A balance ball works your core and when combined with free weights you can get in a total body workout. An added bonus…many of the workout balls come with instructional DVDs or charts to help you get started.

3.  Exercise DVDs: In any video store you will find an entire library of exercise DVDs offering an easy way to try countless numbers of workouts at home right in front of you own TV.  Exercise DVDs are great because they allow you to do different kinds of workouts at home with each exercise demonstrated to ensure you do it correctly.  But it can be quite overwhelming picking out which type of exercise is right for you; pilates, kickboxing, abs, dance, yoga, and just about every workout under the sun.  When selecting a DVD choose a type of exercise that appeals to you, one appropriate for your level of fitness, and try to avoid videos that promise a “quick fix.” Not sure you want to invest in a DVD you might not like? Try a video/DVD rental program or your local library to try out some workouts at little or no cost.

4.  Wii Fit: This Nintendo game has received a lot of press and is being promoted as the ultimate at-home exercise device.  Not only does the Wii calculate your BMI, but it provides a number of workouts that can appeal to the entire family.  By utilizing a “balance board” the Wii Fit can offer instruction for different exercises, track your weight, and act as a personal workout mentor.  The Wii now has more fitness options that are also a great option for getting in shape. But like the treadmill and other aerobic exercise machines, the Wii Fit only works if you put it to use.

5.  Dance Dance Revolution:  This was the go-to workout video game before games like Wii Fit hit the market and is still a fun way to work out.  Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) requires a large dance mat.  Then you step on directional arrows in time with the corresponding onscreen arrows.  Upbeat songs make it a fun workout and the game even tracks how many calories you’ve burned for each song. The DDR workout plan has even been put to use in research studies aimed at helping adolescents get in shape and manage their weight in a fun way. Don’t have a DDR game? Crank up the music at home and dance to your heart’s content…we won’t tell.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Dragon Boat Festival, it is a huge summer event where teams dress up in crazy costumes and race boats on Lake Champlain as a way to fund raise for cancer efforts.

Despite the gloomy weather forecast, thousands of dedicated spectators showed up bright and early to the event. The 75 teams made up of businesses, families, and organizations throughout the community came ready to race their hearts out. Even as the storm clouds came through, the racers pushed on with energy and excitement up until the festival was inevitably cut short. More details about the festival can be found at http://www.ridethedragon.org/.

This year, Vtrim sponsored the athletes village, the area where each team could set up a tent and use a staging area, stretching space, and where other sponsors set up shop. As a sponsor, we were also featured on all of the pendants throughout the village.

Let us just say that in a nutshell, the energy and excitement that was in the air that Sunday was inspiring!  It was truly amazing to see so many people supporting cancer survivors, cancer research and most of all Camp Te Kum Ta (half of this years profits went to the camp http://www.takumta.org/).  Vtrim was  honored to be a featured sponsor at this event, which emphasized fitness, fun, and philanthropy all at the same time.  Check out our photos and let us know if you were there!  We would love to hear about your experience.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/vtrim/

WIN says, safe and effective weight-loss programs should include:

1. Healthy eating plans that reduce calories but do not forbid specific foods or food groups. This is a core tenet of the Vtrim philosophy.  Each person figures out how to manage their food intake based on their own personal circumstances.  A calorie and fat gram goal is provided to help guide the process but individuals get to choose what they want to eat within those parameters.

2. Tips to increase moderate-intensity physical activity. Vtrim provides tips but more importantly takes it one step further and provides a systematic, graduated exercise program so people can incorporate moderate intensity activity into their life in a gradual, sustainable way.

3. Tips on healthy habits that also keep your cultural needs in mind, such as lower-fat versions of your favorite foods. Sustainable behavior change is the goal so Vtrim encourages people to modify recipes and problem solve ways to continue to incorporate favorite foods but in a smart way that takes calories into consideration.

4. Slow and steady weight loss. Depending on your starting weight, experts recommend losing weight at a rate of 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Weight loss may be faster at the start of a program. Vtrim assigns a reduced calorie weight loss goal that will achieve a 1/2 -2 pound weight loss per week.  Slow, gradual and sustainable is the approach.

5.  A plan to keep the weight off after you have lost it. Because maintaining weight lost is often more challenging than losing weight, Vtrim offers a monthly maintenance program for graduates of our weight loss program.  Our goal is to partner with people on their weight management journey for as long as we are needed.

Check out what Vtrim has to offer on our website.  We start online classes every month.  We’d love to “see” you online!

At Vtrim, we distinguish programmed exercise from lifestyle exercise very clearly.  However, both play an important role in lifelong weight management.  Programmed exercise is exercise you do specifically for weight control.  You plan it into your day and you take time to burn calories.  That calorie burn, along with a reduced-calorie intake, creates the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss.  Regular exercise is critical to keeping weight off.  People in Vtrim build up slowly to burning 2000 calories per week (20 miles of walking) through programmed exercise.  Think walking, biking, swimming…

But what about lifestyle exercise?  What is it and how does it fit into  a weight management program? Lifestyle exercise represents the choices you make to be more active on a daily basis.  Think, stairs instead of elevator, parking farther away, raking leaves, walking to the store instead of driving.  All of these choices add up to burning more calories than if you had chosen their sedentary counterpart, elevator instead of stairs, park in the closest spot, pay the neighbor to rake your leaves, drive .25 mile to the store.

Think of lifestyle exercise as insurance.  You will NEVER be 100% accurate in calculating exactly how many calories you are eating and how many you are burning through exercise.  But just the act of recording in a food journal gets you closer to your actuals.  Lifestyle exercise covers this margin of error.  By moving more on a daily basis you are making up for the inevitable errors of journaling.  It is a fact that people underestimate what they eat and typically overestimate the calories burned through exercise.

Take stock of your daily routine.  Do you value “efficiency” over moving more?  This can be deceiving.  You’ll typically beat people waiting for the elevator when you take the stairs to the lower floors.  It is always a good feeling to make it to your destination at the same time as those who rode up but you burned a few extra calories to boot.

Don’t underestimate the importance of lifestyle exercise and get creative with new ways to move more throughout the day.  We like creative out of the box ideas.  Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is tried and true.  But, do you have any unique suggestions you’d like to share?

With the bar set so high, you certainly can’t slack off in the winter time or when weather is less than ideal.  At Vtrim we give you the tools to keep up regular exercise even when snuggling up with a good book seems preferable to braving the elements.

Follow these suggestions and know that you’ll feel like a million bucks after you follow through and exercise even when you’d rather not.

Dress Right: Most people overdress for winter. Exercise raises body temperature significantly. Even a moderate workout will make you feel that it is 30 degrees warmer than it really is. So, when you are going out on a 20 degree day, dress for 50 degree weather. Wear several layers of loose fitting clothing. Layers trap warm air that acts as insulation to keep you warm. You’ll be able to take off layers as you get warm.

First Layer: Should be made of material that draws sweat away from your skin to keep you warm and dry. Polypropylene, Capilene or Thermax work well. Avoid cotton. It absorbs moisture and will make you feel cold.

Second Layer: A wool sweater, synthetic turtleneck and/or a pile jacket work well. Sweatpants or tights will keep your legs warm. Add leg warmers or thermal underwear when it’s really cold.

Outer Layers: A waterproof jacket that is also wind-proof but breathable works well. Gore-Tex is an excellent synthetic material for this layer. An ordinary windbreaker is OK for a short workout.

Hats: Be sure to wear a hat. This also keeps your feet warm. So much heat escapes through the head because it is not well insulated.

Mittens: Mittens work better for warmth than gloves because they keep your fingers together which means less surface area from which heat can escape.

Shoes: Consider the snow and ice when buying shoes. Look for a pair that will have traction on ice. While walking or running, take smaller steps; it’s safer.

Excuses become roadblocks to your goal.  Take charge and make it happen for yourself!

One of our favorite sources of research data is the National Weight Control Registry.   This database was started in 1994 and is now 5000+ people deep.  The criterion for joining the Registry is maintenance of at least a 30 lb weight loss for at least one year.  Rena Wing, PhD and Jim Hill, PhD, two renowned obesity researchers, started this database in an effort to study people who have lost weight and kept it off.  People self select to join this database and it is not a randomized controlled study.  The researchers concede this limitation but the point is to gleen common characteristics of people who are keeping weight off long-term.  What are they doing and how can this knowledge help others who are attempting to maintain the weight they’ve worked so hard to lose?

This data provides a road map of what successful weight maintenance looks like and it is no cake walk, so to speak!

Common characteristics among successful weight losers:

1.  Diet AND exercise are key.  Successful weight maintenance requires both!  Successful losers lost weight with diet and exercise and they continue these behaviors in maintenance.

2.  Most follow a reduced-calorie, low fat diet with an average of 24% of calories coming from fat.  (Tracking fat helps you to meet your calorie goal since gram for gram fat has twice the calories of protein and carbohydrate.)

3.  Almost 80% eat a healthy breakfast everyday. (They get started on the right foot everyday.)

4.  75% weigh themselves at least once a week and many weigh daily.  (This allows you to correct for minor slips.)

4.  90% exercise an average of 1 hour per day.  The average exercise expenditure is the equivalent of walking 28 miles per week.  (Don’t be intimidated, see it as perspective on what you are currently doing.  Can you do more?)

5.  62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.  (No time for TV with all of that exercise!  Can’t give up TV, walk the treadmill while you watch.)

Vtrim will teach you the weight loss behaviors necessary to achieve these markers of long-term success. You too can be a successful loser and Vtrim can help!

The Vtrim Weight Management Program has been flourishing for the last 16 years in America’s healthiest city, Burlington, Vermont. Thousands of Vermonters have participated in Vtrim in both our research studies and our local commercial offering at the University of Vermont campus. Participants of Vtrim have found or rediscovered a healthier lifestyle through weight management, and for those living in Burlington, they now fit right in with the masses. Burlington has the largest percentage of people who claim to be in good or great health (92%). This vibrant city of 40,000 is also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of poor health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Vtrim rolls out to a national online audience, it brings the Burlington, VT vibe of vitality through a healthier lifestyle to cities all across the country. We are proud to call Burlington, VT home, America’s Healthiest City!

In the study, participants were assigned to one of two groups: 1) the PDA group or 2) the control group. The PDA group received PDAs that were programmed to beep a few times throughout the day with reminders to exercise. If the reminder was ignored, the PDA beeped again after 30 minutes. An evening reminder also prompted participants to think about their exercise goals for the next day. In contrast, the control group participants received some exercise handouts to read.

The control group averaged only 2 hours of exercise per week, while the PDA group averaged 5 hours of exercise per week, more than double the control group. So if you need a reminder to fit in more movement throughout the day, try setting your cell phone calendar or your PDA to remind you to get your workout in. The more you keep exercise in the forefront of your thoughts, the more likely you are to get it done!