Training Peaks, defined as “the ultimate training and nutrition software,” is said to help motivated individuals and professionals achieve health, fitness and peak athletic performance.

The software makes it seamless for individuals and training groups to plan & log workouts, track results and monitor data such as heart rate zones, mileage, pace, elevation. It has downloadable GPS and power meter compatibility with most popular brands and devices. It also allows athletes to more easily communicate with their trainers and teammates.

While the software is available to anyone, Sara believes that it is of the most benefit to triathletes, cyclists and long-distance runners. For more information or to sign up for the program, visit the company’s website at http://home.trainingpeaks.com.

In summary, 50 obese people were put on strict diets of 500 calories per day for 10 weeks.  The primary focus of the study was to track the hormones involved in appetite regulation. By the conclusion of the 70 days, only 34 of the participants remained (I too would drop out if someone only let me eat 500 calories a day!); all of which had lost significant weight.

Then about a year after the study concluded, hormone levels in many of the participants indicated that their bodies were trying to become fat again despite maximal efforts to keep the weight off.  Why?  Think about it this way – If someone has weighed 300 pounds for many years, it is impossible for it (weight) to come off and remain off after only 10 weeks of an extremely low cal, starvation diet! The body wants the weight back as its been operating like that for a long time.

I fear such studies as this one provide our increasingly obese population just another excuse not to change their diet & exercise habits. As many of you probably know, it is really stinking hard to lose weight and it’s even harder to keep it off permanently. That is why the goal with my weight loss clients is manageable weight loss and then work to maintain. Let the body adapt. Let the person’s behavior change.

Tara Parker-Pope, author of the NY Times article highlighting this study, does a great job of looking at obesity from various angles. She suggests we should give overweight people a break, that biological and genetic factors can dictate one’s habits and weight.

While I agree with her arguments to some degree, I currently view the biggest problem as deriving from our societal environment. Some people simply do not want to work very hard to lose weight and keep it off. They have succumbed to the quick-fix mentality of the diet and fitness industry promising overnight results without realizing that hey first need to figure out how and why they got so overweight in the first place.

For example, if you were raised in a household that ate ice cream every night after dinner, is that behavior likely to change by quitting cold turkey?  No!

Many barriers to weight loss exist – work, family, life, injury – I see it every day in my practice. But many or all of these barriers can be overcome if the root of the problem is understood and people are provided with the correct tools to help them succeed.

The cold, dark days; the social obligations; the tempting cookies and chocolates in our faces no matter where we turn are quite extraordinary. And with so many things working against us, how do we avoid winter weight gain?

The theme with my patients and clients during the winter/holiday season is maintenance.

There is no doubt that it is extremely hard to try to lose any weight between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. BUT maintenance is possible with a little effort.The first step is to figure out why weight gain happens. From my standpoint it’s quite simple. Most comfortable, weather friendly activities such as running, triathlons, tennis, golf, walking to work, etc. get harder to do outside in winter months – especially here in NYC. Without races, court or tee times holding one accountable; people’s activity levels tend to severely diminish or even stop.

The change in weather is further complicated by the proximity to additional calories that begins around Halloween.  Many food options become available during October, November and December that simply are not available during other times of the year.

So why weight gain happens in the winter /holiday season is simple – people are moving less and eating more. But that does not mean you cannot enjoy the season and maintain your current weight and fitness levels.

Below are a few tips to maintain your weight this holiday season:

1. Replace your Summer and Spring Activities – Especially triathletes and runners – hit the weights! Nothing keeps the fat off like strength training. If you insist on remaining cardio queens throughout the winter, however, gear up and purchase long cycling pants, get booties, get an ear band.

2. If you know social obligations will prevent you from your traditional evening workout, get up early and hit the gym. There’s a reason 6am spin classes exist.

3. Avoid excessive liquid calories – You do NOT need that peppermint mocha just because Starbucks says you do. The excessive booze certainly won’t keep your pants from getting tighter. Drink less by alternating with water and consumer your liquid calories and carbs wisely.

4. At parties,  go for the veggie platter first. If you shove a handful of bell peppers, carrots and celery down your throat before anything else, believe me, not much more will fit in your stomach.

- By Sarah Currie MS RD

For those who enjoy tennis, golf, cycling and running, adding another clothing layer should suffice. Early morning joggers and cyclists, however, should also consider purchasing long fingered gloves and toe booties to layer on top of your cycling shoes.

Now is also the perfect time of year to head out to the farmer’s market and stock up on seasonal fruits and vegetables. Squash and root vegetables are abundant during the fall months and are a unique and healthy option to add to your diet.

A low calorie option to pasta is spaghetti squash. It is easily prepared in the microwave or it can be baked in the oven.  It is very tasty and provides enough fuel for you to continue the outdoor activities that you love so much.

For a green market near you check out the list by visiting:  http://www.grownyc.org/ourmarkets.

Happy fall!

For most New Yorkers, life can be pretty stressful. Not many of us seem to be exempt from the work hard/play hard mantra, even while being away from the city. Simply put – vacation is an escape from our “real” life. Exercise, nutrition and sleep patterns usually get thrown out the door. But why should we throw days, months or even years worth of living a healthy lifestyle out the door? Do not get me wrong – I’m not saying to become a total prude and refuse beach cocktails or order the chicken when you really, really, really want the steak. But what I am saying is to simply find a balance.

I was able to practice this concept of balance on a recent vacation to Aruba for a dear friends’ wedding. Not only was I able to transform my trip into a self-imposed triathlon training camp with a daily self-taught open water swimming class (ok so one day I only swam 10 minutes), but I also drank beer daily, ate food pairings and even conducted a bar review of Miami Vices.

Did you know that an 11.27 ounce can of Balashi Beer goes quite well with the chicken salad at the Radisson Hotel beach front restaurant? But the bar neglects to top its Miami Vices with a dark rum floater, which is, in my opinion, the best part of the frozen concoction. (We never did figure out the reason behind the 11.27ounce can.) My point is – if you create manageable guidelines, anyone can stick to a balanced health regimen while still enjoying yourself and not return home feeling the need to detox on the latest fad juice cleanse.

With that being  said, my friends and I came up with our top 5 vacation guidelines that hopefully will help you stay balanced while on your next vacation.

1. Be active every day, even if it’s just a walk on the beach or a quick swim

2. Sleep enough, whether you go to bed at a reasonable hour or nap during the day if you had a late night

3. Allow yourself one frozen drink per day. You might drink more alcohol than this, but watch your calories, these bad boys can easily cost you 400 each.

4. Eat 3 square meals. Make one light so you can enjoy dinner and/or dessert. No snacking

5. Drink plenty of water

Vacation season round two is upon us so if you blew it this Spring you have another chance this Summer to practice balance!

This entry was written by Physical Equilibrium Registered Dietitian Sarah Currie.

Offering further proof of this correlation came earlier this week, when New York Times Health & Fitness writer Gretchen Reynolds authored a supremely interesting article on a study conducted by Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Canada. This study, conducted over the period of one year, compared the lifespan of mice that were given the opportunity to exercise against those that were not.

The results are astounding! The mice that were not given an opportunity to regularly exercise all died within one year, due to what is identified as “malfunctioning mitochondria.”  The results for the mice that were allowed to run on a wheel three times per week is in sharp contrast. According to the article, those mice, “had full pelts of dark fur, no salt-and-pepper shadings. They also had maintained almost all of their muscle mass and brain volume. Their gonads were normal, as were their hearts. They could balance on narrow rods, the showoffs.” These mice also far outlived their non-exercising counterparts.

So what does this study mean for humans?

Dr. Tarnpolsky is not yet certain. So in the meantime, we recommend clicking here to read the full article and then head outside or to the gym for some exercise of your own!

To ensure that I could run on race day, I had to taper down to no running, get two massages, tape my calf, and resort to pool only workouts. I rested and took care of my body as much as possible to heal the injuries. This proved to be the right course of action as on race morning, I felt as good as I had felt in a while, which added to my confidence that I would compete the race.

I was positioned in the last wave that started at 10:40am. Waiting on Staten Island to begin the race, I congregated with other Gilda’s Club Charity runners and we took in the chilly, sunny morning and race atmosphere. At 10:15am, we ate our last snacks and took one last bathroom break before going to our corral.

I got off to a great start over the Verrazano Bridge. I was positioned in the first corral of the last group and with the new three-wave race start, I didn’t feel that crowded as I began my run across the bridge. However, as I headed into the bridge’s decline, I felt a few disconcerting knee tweaks that freaked me out! It was only in mile 2 and I had knee problems!

I quickly did an assessment and figured I could be over striding and causing extra knee strain on the downhill.  When I started taking smaller steps the pain went away so I was happy I figured that problem out because I had a long way to go!

After crossing the bridge we arrived in Brooklyn, which was my favorite borough of the marathon.  Each neighborhood was so different from the people in the crowd, to the architecture and buildings to the bands that lined the streets. At this point, I was striding at 15 seconds faster each mile than my goal pace. This, along with seeing my friends along 4th Ave., gave me a tremendous boost; although I think they were more excited to see me then I was them being how focused I was.

As I made it into Queens, I started to slow down a bit but still held a good pace while enjoying the crowd.  I stopped for an extremely fast (90 seconds!) emergency bathroom break at the half marathon mark.

Next up was the 59th St Bridge, which proved to be my slowest mile of the morning, although it did not affect my overall pace or goal time. When I crossed into Manhattan on to 1st Avenue, I was a bit disappointed.  I did not think that the crowds were as large as people had told me – or were as loud as everyone talks about.  Maybe because I was in the last wave and most spectators had already seen their friends?  Was everyone heading to the bars already?  There were people out, but not as many as when I had gone to 1st Avenue to watch the race in the past.

But I did not let that phase me. I approached mile 19 where I had stationed my group of 5 friends – for what we renamed “Kit Kat Mile.” When I was passing – my friends were going to hand me a Kit Kat!  By that point I had eaten enough gels, Gatorade, and Coconut Water so I wanted a different taste.  That Kit Kat was on my mind!!  I was so happy to see them, their crazy signs, and eat a bite of that Kit Kat.

Feeling a boost from my friends (and the chocolate), I continued in to the Bronx via the Willis Avenue Bridge.  I personally was still feeling pretty good (although a bit slower) but lots of runners were dropping off to stretch and take a walking break.

Then I saw the Rhino.

That’s right – a guy in a Rhino suit.  He had run just as far as me in this crazy costume.  He actually looked pretty good too, having maintained a good and consistent pace.  I thought to myself “I cannot let the Rhino beat me!!”   But just around that time, as I approached mile 21, my knees began to send shooting pains throughout my joint during every step that I took.  I had to slow down a bit and walk/shuffle to avoid the pain.  “Damn”, I thought, “the Rhino is inching ahead!!”

So for the next two miles, I played cat and mouse with the Rhino guy. I was supposed to see people at mile 23 and then at 24.  But I couldn’t find any of my friends!  Where were they??  At this point all I wanted was to finish and stop the pain so I kept shuffling and going as fast as I could.  I don’t really remember the last 5 miles so much. I do remember kind of getting annoyed with people shouting my name (because it was on my shirt) when I would stop to rub my knees and stretch or walk.

But somehow, while running the last miles across Central Park South, I was able to jog a bit faster than I had the last few miles so I knew that my adrenaline was kicking in and the end of the race was close.

Crossing the finish line, I took the Kit Kat out of my pocket and held it up! Fun photo finish!  I had to do something fun! Post race, my knee was in really bad shape and I was freezing even with the foil blanket.  I could barely walk up my stairs to my 3rd floor apartment.  But once back inside I was greeted by my friends who had been cheering me all day!  I took a hot shower (there was no way I was getting into an ice bath at that time!) and then plopped myself on my couch with ice packs on my knees and a glass of champagne!

My first marathon was a good one.  It was a great learning experience for my body, my training, and for when I coach other athletes for endurance races.  I can’t say if I’ll do another marathon at this time.  I need to heal my knee and get my body recovered first.  I think I prefer triathlons and the cross training aspect.  It certainly is a bit more forgiving on the body.  But if anyone wants to run a marathon, I do suggest the NYC Marathon.  It is a great experience, with the crowd being so supportive and the course it offers an amazing trip through all the 5 boroughs.

An unforgettable experience! I have the photos and medal to prove it!

There’s no excuse to let your workout suffer while on vacation.  Contact Sara Dimmick at 917-744-6627 to reserve your summer personal training sessions today.

Visit the Case Studies section of our Web site to learn more about Amber’s success with our  new resistance band workout routine.