The Stuck-at-Home Weight Gain Pandemic and How to Fight It

Today, we’re taking a hard look at two nasty precursors for weight gain: COVID-19 and Old Man Winter. It’s a common problem—people already tend to pack on a few pounds during the winter months—but now with a pandemic and stay-at-home orders, the weight-gain problem is exacerbated. So let's fight back! Now is the time to get after it, while winter is in full force (leaving the house is damn near impossible these days with all the snow across the country), so that when spring arrives and vaccines are distributed, we'll be ready to get to living again.

The good, the bad…and the solution

To start off, two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Although weight gain significantly varies from person to person, research shows that the average American gains five to seven pounds during a normal winter season. Tack on a year-long pandemic that closes gyms and fitness studios, it's safe to say that number will likely creep up this year. For some, the seasonal weight gain has to do with Seasonal Affective
Disorder—a type of winter depression, increased anxiety, depression and loneliness, but most of us don’t struggle with that, so why do we gain weight so easily? According to Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, it happens for the simple reason that we eat more and move less during the winter months (1).

The weight gain itself is bad news, but the good news is that it's relatively easy to address. And Spring doesn't have to meet softer middles and tighter clothes, so let’s take a two-pronged approach in tackling weight gain with our weapon of choice here at Tailored Strength: DAILY Movement and the “Win the Day” motto.

Increase NEAT

NEAT, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis, is basically all the energy you spend not eating, sleeping, or doing vigorous activity. This can make up around 10% of total energy expenditure and is very low hanging fruit for fighting seasonal weight gain due to cold and COVID restrictions. The first step in increasing NEAT is to sit down and analyze what a realistic goal might be for daily movement and aim to improve on it each week. All phones these days have step counters (not a rock-solid form of tracking but gives a good ballpark number), so take that phone out and see what your average has been over the last 5-10 days. Then, add 1 mile (2000-2500 steps) to that average as a starting point. Once you're hitting that new level of activity for 5 days straight, add 500 more steps (about 5-10 min extra) and repeat the process until you are getting about 45 minutes to 1 hour of walking a day (or 3-4x what your base level of steps were before. For example, if your starting average is at 2,500 steps, you'll end up with about 7,500-10,000 steps).

Quick ways to increase NEAT

• Walk an extra block on the dog walk 2-3x day

• Park in the "outfield" of the parking lot

• Walk to a nearby restaurant to pick up food instead of ordering delivery

• Take the stairs when you can (it's not that much extra if its within 4-5 floors)

• Get a standing desk and move around/walk in place while working

• Get up and go get a glass of water and walk around for 3-5 min for every hour of computer time

• Walk to the coffee shop and get a coffee

Adopt a “Win the Day” Mentality and the 80/20 rule

1. Adopted Mentality: For the next several weeks, do not allow yourself to say, “Just this once.” If you pay close attention, a ‘just this once’ situation comes up practically every day (if not more). You go to a retirement party. You take your spouse out for a birthday dinner. Someone brings a meal by your house because you’ve been sick. Your co-worker brings in the leftover pizza from last night’s party. Your child has leftover Valentine’s Day candy. Let’s avoid these cascading “just this once” episodes. So for the next couple of weeks, to set the tone, I want you to see how many days in a row you can “win the day” and avoid these pitfalls and stay on course. Winning one day at a time is a much more achievable goal mindset than trying to recover and refocus from yesterday's mistakes. Achieving a daily goal is key for sustaining motivation, and motivation maintains consistency!
   
   However, if you do indulge some, because you will, keep it from being an all-you-can-eat buffet. Just put a little X on that day and restart the process tomorrow. By the end of the month, look at how many X’s you have. Is it less than 20% of the days? If so, you are doing awesome and your results will reflect it!
   

2. Plan your occasional splurge but keep it 80/20. Unending deprivation is never a good idea, but you have to be intentional about the time, place, and food that you let yourself splurge on. Love the hot wings at your favorite restaurant? Look at the calendar and make sure you're staying in the 20% wiggle room (about 6 days/month of "X" days) and if it fits, order up! Enjoy those wings. Then get back to the consistency...not the next day, the NEXT MEAL. The following meal after a low nutrient meal sets the tone for the next, so try to get back into eating a more balanced meal right away.
   
   Did you "X" up 4 days out of the first 10 days of the month? You should probably say "no" to the wings this time and build up some adherence before getting into a bad situation. Don’t waste your 20% early in the month on meals that don’t compete with those wings! Eating better takes work, but I know you're capable of doing it at least 80% of the time. Consistency is key and the majority of your meals should work towards your goal.
   

3. Keep moving. Exercise is not an optional activity. Now more than ever you have to get your body in motion. Exercise is very effective at preventing weight gain—and that is what we’re after right now. Don’t even worry so much about losing pounds; just work to keep the winter scale-creep from happening to you. Try to get some cardio at least six days a week.
   
   Below is a workout from our 21 day Bodyweight Challenge; this outline can be done 1-2x per week along with 30-45 min of brisk walking/jogging/cycling on the other days. I know it's cold outside (at least here in Chicago) but throw that coat and boots on and get after it! Remember: spring is coming. Let’s be ready for it, and leave winter weight gain behind.
   
   Click here to access the workout!

Sources: (1) http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/5-tips-to-avoid-winter-weight-gain

Get a little berry in your life!

Fall is here! That crisp, beautiful smell of the best season of the year is upon us. With season change comes all of those viruses and allergies, so to prepare for this, let's make a couple tweaks to those eating patterns. Today we're exploring a very simple, calorie-friendly food that can bolster the immune system and improve some major markers of health: the berry.

Why Berries?

First off, they taste amazing! Everyone has at least one favorite berry, and it helps that they are LOADED with nutrients, including Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and fiber. One very unique value add to berries is the higher concentration of anthocyanins, which contain antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial AND anti-obesity effects! Plus, these can be stacked onto almost any dessert and make great snacks.

Below I've listed the four “heavy-hitters” of the berry class. Check them out and read about how to get more of them into your diet.

Blueberry

• Benefits: One major benefit of blueberries is the high content of anthocyanin, which has been shown to battle metabolic syndrome*. These little berries pack a ton of fiber (1.8g), vitamin C, and Potassium per serving. (*Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of conditions [High Blood Pressure, high blood sugar, higher body fat, higher cholesterol, etc] that increase risk for strokes, heart attacks and type 2 diabetes.)

• Serving size: ½ cup

• How to get them in: It's really easy these little bebes into other foods (cereals, oatmeal, protein blended shakes, salads) but are AMAZING when put in the freezer and snacked on!

Blackberry

• Benefits: These berries contain lots of seeds, which means tons of Fiber (in fact, 2-3x the amount of the other berries on this list - 3.8g/serving). And they also pack a strong content of anthocyanin, and a higher content of Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium.

• Serving size: ½ cup

• How to get them in: These are easy to just snack on fresh (half cup is quick) or really great when added into yogurt!

Cherry

• Benefits: One of the most health-aiding berries out there (it's documented), and for good reason. These are nutrient packed. They pack the health boosting combo of high content of anthocyanin, high fiber, vitamin C, as well as high in polyphenols, which are key for reducing cellular damage and inflammation.

• Serving size: ½ cup

• How to get them in: Handful of them fresh, slice them up with some nuts, throw in a salad or add into desserts.

Strawberry

• Benefits: Very high water content, seeds provide much needed fiber boost (1g per every 3 berries!). Like the berries above, they also contain high amounts of anthocyanin for decreasing risk for metabolic syndrome and heart attacks as well as flavonoid (quercetin) to battle inflammation. The addition of B vitamins, folate and potassium make this one heck of a berry.

• Serving size: 3 large strawberries

• How to get them in: Cut them in half to really get some flavor, or maybe the easiest way is to add into smoothies, cereal/oatmeal, salads, or a personal favorite…strawberry short-cake anyone!?

Need we say more? Berries are packed with a host of nutritional benefits, they taste incredible, and they're so easy to use. They should be part of every diet. Now, go get a little (or a lot) of berry in your life!

Blitz or Marathon Diets: Which one is right for you?

Diets. They are everywhere. In all the headlines, the latest office fad for at least one coworker, and one of the largest and most discussed topics out there. Every year, more than one-third of Americans go on some sort of diet. The worst part? Of those who see some success out the gate, 90% will regain that weight (and sometimes more). This is far from ideal. So what gives? Why don’t diets work in the long term? Why do so many of us keep failing? I'll tell you why. People are IMPATIENT. They want fast results. But that's clearly not working for 90% of people, so let's dive in and try to understand this phenomenon better.

To take things elementary, what's the definition of "diet"?

Diet (dai·uht):

1. The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

2. A special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons

Macronutrients are the main components of food that make up a diet: carbohydrates, fat and protein.

Because we're not living in a society where people gather food from their immediate surroundings, resulting in a habitual set of food we eat all the time, we're referring to part 2 of the definition above. Majority of popularized diets aim for fat/weight loss, and this is done by restricting or avoiding one of the macronutrients. For example, the KETO diet restricts carbohydrates. A Bodybuilder diet does the opposite, restricting fat. One thing diets typically lack is proper instruction on deployment. How long are you supposed to restrict said macro for the best effect? When is the diet "done"?

Most diets are meant to be short-term, or "Blitz Diets", that focus on large caloric deficits, usually more than a 25% reduction from the individuals maintenance calorie consumption. Blitz diets can yield very rapid weight and fat loss; but these are hard to do, so they're most effective over the course of 2-4 weeks when there's a "deadline" event on the horizon (think weddings, weigh-ins for a competition, photo shoots, etc.).

Another form of diet is known as a “Marathon Diet", consisting of small to moderate deficits/restrictions over a longer period of time (think 2-4 months). These types of diets allow for much more “tinkering” and can have fewer "side effects" on mood, hunger, muscle maintenance, and hormonal issues. That said, this type of dieting can be boring and mentally draining. It can feel like there's no end in sight, but they're effective in building a diet around the individual's lifestyle (see part 1 of the definition above).

So which is right for you? To answer that, here is a quick checklist to help figure it out:

• How lean are you already? Consider your body fat percentages. For men, is it under 12%? Women, is it under 24%?

• How locked in is your nutrition already? How much protein do you eat per day? Do you drink 100oz or more of water per day? How often are you going out to eat/ordering in?

• What do you have going on in your life? Do you have kids? Do you work long hours? How much sleep do you get?

• Are you consistently working out 3-5x/week?
  

Once you've considered your answers to those questions, read on. If you are already pretty lean, your nutrition is dialed in, and your'e sleeping like a baby, both Blits and Marathon options should work for you, but following a more aggressive Blitz style diet might be the best fit. You can lock it in hard for a few weeks as a way to "switch it up" (for those personality types who like that) and get some great results.

If you have more weight to lose, aren't sure how much protein you should be eating, and have kids running around at home; a slower, less aggressive approach is what I'd recommend. It's best to run the Marathon.

For most people looking to retain results, the Marathon diet is the way to go as it shows better results in weight loss, reduced muscle and strength loss. These diets are effective for long-term and sustained results, and it homes in on both parts of the definition above. Many people struggle with the baseline nutritional habits (water, protein, balanced meals, etc) necessary to dive into a Blitz diet, and that's where the slow changes and habit building of a Marathon diet can come into play. One can reduce calories, create a course of action to lose weight, and avoid the added stress that comes with crazy cravings and aggressive deficits.

Whatever path you choose, just know you WILL slip up and make mistakes. You'll need to make adjustments along the way (and that's where consulting with a professional can really come in handy), and you'll need to get up and keep moving forward; just focusing on the next meal (not the next day, week or month). At the end of the day, patience is really the key.

References:
Ashtary-Larky D, Bagheri R, Abbasnezhad A, Tinsley GM, Alipour M, Wong A., Effects of gradual weight loss v. rapid weight loss on body composition and RMR: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Br J Nutr. 2020 Jun 24;1–12.

Exercise, The Immune System, and Getting Back into Shape after COVID

It has long been studied and concluded that exercise - if done at the appropriate intensity, durations and frequency - can be very beneficial for overall immunity function. All three of these aspects (intensity, duration, frequency) play a role, though. Please, read on.

What is the immune system and “immunity” anyway?
The immune system is a network of cells/proteins that help defend the body from infection, including viruses, and is a major contributor in overall recovery from "musculoskeletal loading/micro trauma" (working out) and in turn, overall muscle and performance. With that, there is a correlation between overall muscle mass and immune function. The better your muscle mass, the larger the pool of proteins for the immune system to use when needed. The cardiovascular system has a large role in immune function as well. With a better stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped in and out of the system) and strong overall efficiency of the cardiovascular system means that more healthy, oxygen-rich blood is getting pumped into the immune system network...which means your body is better able to properly fight off infections or foreign irritants.

Another way to think about this is as you increase your stroke volume, then you decrease your resting heart rate (becoming more efficient). This basically means that those that follow a properly structured workout program focused on building stronger, larger, and more resilient muscle while also implementing frequent cardiovasculartraining likely have a more efficient and reliable immune system. Those people are better equipped to fight things like viruses away, exactly what we needed in 2020 right?In regards to training, there are three primary factors to building a program that aid in building stronger immune function (the body's ability to recover), and they're the same three mentioned above: Intensity, Duration, and Frequency.

Too much of a good thing (working out) can have the opposite effect. Keeping stress on the body (in this case,working out) high for too long or too often keeps the body from recovering, which it needs to do in order to build up your immunity systems.

Intensity is probably the most critical piece to this puzzle, because it's really easy to "over-do" it, especially when coming back from a global pandemic. It's also the largest contributor to immunity-boosting, as it can be easily manipulated within each individual workout and can be driven by how good one feels during the workout.

Duration and frequency are pretty straightforward, with frequency playing the larger in how the body adapts when frequently exposed to a stimulus (workouts). Ask yourself:Do you workout every day no matter what? Then you're probably not recovering properly. Do you take every set to the max and find that you're constantly sore after your workouts? Then you're probably not recovering properly.Are you working out twice a day? Two hours a day? Then you're probably not recovering properly!

Exercise is simply a stimulus that the body finds a way to respond to, recover from, and adapt to. That's what allows your body to take on more "stress" over time, and recovery plays a major role in that. "Deload” weeks, off weeks, or a vacation can actually increase your results in the gym (and your health overall). This act of "resting" is also known as supercompensation, or a period of time where recovery is fully optimized allowing capacity for higher performance and/or growth increases prior to the program. But too much rest and recovery leads to just the opposite…deconditioning and adaptation to a weaker stimulus. This "deconditioning" is precisely what many of us are facing after this COVID shutdown period. Even if workouts have been continued while at home, chances are the intensity is reduced,  the duration is probably shorter, and the frequency is inconsistent. After a longer break from your routine, it's easy to think you can pick up right where you left off. Wrong! It is important to keep the ego in check of “what you used to do” and take it slow, checking in on where you are before diving feet first. Remember the immunity benefits from above? This is more important than ever as we start to open everything back up from the virus shutdown. We want to reap the benefits of a strong immune system to fend off any introductions of unwanted viruses, so make sure you do the following to keep your body recovering properly.

#1 Gauge your Intensity
This is by far the most important factor. Both for maintaining proper recovery for progress in the gym and for dictating the other two factors, all driving towards keeping your immunity in good shape. The nervous system, ligaments/tendons, and your muscles have been on a break, and they are NOT primed for a max test. So start slowly to bring in intensity and give your over-rested body a chance to figure out what’s going on; then your body can re-adapt. On a scale of 1-10, try to keep your intensity at about a 5-7 for the first week or so, slowly starting to build in more challenging sets within individual workouts. Even if you have been working out at home, just the simple move of going from a bodyweight (maybe bands/light weights) to a barbell or machine-loaded program is a significant jump in intensity. Proceed cautiously.

# 2 FrequencyFrequency goes hand-in-hand with intensity. Since you're starting with lower intensity coming back, increase your frequency just a little higher (3-4x week is a great starting point) to encourage adaptation and recovery. For immunity boosts, you need frequent workouts! So keep it to at least 3x a week here.

#3 Duration
Base duration off of what you have been doing through the shelter-in-place. For example, if you have been going on 20-40 minute walks or doing a living room workout for half an hour, try to keep your gym workouts the same (or maybe just a slight increase). You can definitely push duration some as long as you keep the intensity in check. Allow yourself to increase the duration of your workouts weekly, until you get to about 60-minutes where cortisol rises and starts to diminish progress, pushing the body into a needed recovery period. Try to keep it at around 60-minutes! That's all you need.

First Month Back Smart Immunity Protocol

• Week 1-2: Keep intensity at about a 5-7 out of a 10 scale. Focus on total body movements, and keep weight in that 5-7 intensity range (whatever rep ranges you prefer) and no max-outs. Shoot for working out 3-5x each week, and keep your workouts to about 30-50 minutes.

• Week 3-4: Push it a little. Get up into the 8 on the scale and maybe throw in an extra set or two in a workout to push the limits. With the increased intensity, don't do any increases on frequency (still 3-5x/week) and duration.

• Week 5+: Get back to your regularly scheduled programming! Remember that intensity is the driving factor for immunity-boosting, so if you go through a very intense program, then double down on recovery and decrease at least one (if not both) duration and frequency. This ensures the body has plenty of time to recover and take on the demands of each workout.

Look, I'm not telling you to be a wimp and to tip-toe around your workouts. But we all need to realize that this virus was a really big deal, and one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and our communities is to build a program that not only gets us into shape, but to STAY HEALTHY (and keep training)! So get out there, train smart, and keep your ego in check. Build a program that continues to be successful. If you need help with any of that, please, reach out.

How to Stay On-Track During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Let’s not get it confused, being stuck at home in quarantine SUCKS. The temptation to just let everything you have worked hard for go, hunker down on the couch for the next 12 hours, and sip on (yet another bottle of) wine is a very real temptation. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Implement some (or all!) of the following strategies can be your first line of defense against the side effects of this “shelter in place” Now’s the time to focus and stay on track. Let’s begin.

1. Keep a routine.
This might be the most important thing to do. Maintaining some semblance of regularity, especially when it comes to fitness, can be a valuable asset in keeping the body and mind in a good place. Routines are proven to yield marked reduction in stress and anxiety, plus improved overall mental health. An example of a routine can be as simple as getting up at the same time as you normally would to go to work, keeping meals around the same time, and keeping your workouts as a break during the day. Do you usually workout over lunch? Insert a home workout or walk outside around the same time. Do you typically work out after the work day? Set up a group call with friends (or a trainer) to “meet up” and virtually do a workout together. With all the uncertainty in the world, this is one piece of your day you can control, and it’s more important than ever to keep a clear, level head so that you can tackle the rest of the checkpoints on this list.

2. Bring mobility to the forefront.
Training is all about ebbs and flows. For the time being, with all the extra hours of sitting around, accessing and maintaining ranges of motion should be your number one focus. Extended sitting yields an increase in
overall flexion of the body, so focus on getting the body EXTENDED and opened up. Here are a few great bang-for-your-buck exercises to sprinkle in throughout your day to battle all this extended inactivity:

• Worlds greatest stretch

• Cat/Cow

• Prone Cobra

Another way to implement this strategy is to really double-down on any mobility weaknesses in your training. Need to improve on squat depth? Work on some extra ankle/hip mobility drills every day. Do your shoulders hurt? Work on some base shoulder stability and range of motion drills so that when you’re back in the gym and getting after the iron, you can do so with even better form, and without any pain! You’ll find a collection of these drills on our YouTube channel. Let us know what you think!

3. Frequency is king.
There are three points of the triangle that is fitness programming: intensity, frequency, and duration. While quarantined, the focus should shift to higher frequency (1-3x/day) workouts that are shorter in duration (10-30 minutes) and lower intensity. You could tackle this by doing just a few exercises (1-3) multiple times per day or a modified gym workout almost every day (5-6x/week). Since the intensity is low, these methods are approachable and easy to implement. Not to mention, we all know you’re sitting around in sweats all day, so you’re always ready. Check out these two methods below:

Method 1 – A few exercises throughout the day, every day
(Alternate Day 1 and Day 2 throughout the week, doing 3-5x/day)

Day 1:
Pushups (5-20)
Squats (5-20)
Prone I , Prone Y or Prone T (5-20reps)

Day 2:
Split Squat or Step back lunge (5-10/leg)
Plank (or Plank with shoulder Tap) (20-40 sec)
Glute Bridge (10-20 reps)

Method 2 - Modified gym workout almost every day
Do a more standard Strength/Conditioning body weight program found here. (If you have some equipment at home and want a program tailored to what you have available, we can write up a custom program for you. If you want to take the additional step and meet virtually to workout together, we can do that too. Reach out to us!)

4. Eat like an adult.
Stressful times often cause us to throw constraint to the wind: eating like kids (boxed snacks, cereals, candy, etc.) and drinking more than usual. Sure, these treats give us a quick dopamine spike, but we eventually nose-dive. The chances of maintaining any progress in health and general well-being drop significantly with this nose-dive, but you’re in luck…we have a solution. Eat like an adult MOST of the time.

This rule should apply ALWAYS, but especially these days. Exercise the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80% of your diet should still consist of veggies, lean proteins, fiber-rich grains and fruit. The other 20% can be opened up to all of those “guilty pleasures” we have. I would not recommend the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to try a new or extreme diet for the simple reason that this causes more stress on the system (something none of us need right now), and with fewer distractions there’s an increased chance for those “screw it” scenarios. Find a diet you can keep, maintain a routine (see #1), but allow a treat or two as you battle this tough time.

There you have it; four easy strategies with potentially massive impact. Get the most out of this shitty situation we are all in by zeroing in on what matters now: your mental health, mobility, and eating habits. You’ll thank me later when you come out of this quarantine a stronger version of yourself. Ill see you on the other side!