If it’s January, that means gyms everywhere are packed with New Year’s “resolutionaries:” those who join right after the holidays and vow to diet and exercise.
Maria Calla, group exercise manager at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, in Marblehead, said it’s no myth that New Years resolutions really pack a gym. “We’ve been so busy,” she said. “There’s so many people coming to work out right now. Everyone is looking to lose weight and get fit.”
Experts agree most of them are likely to stop after a couple of months.
Besides gyms that offer specials, there always seems to be a new nutrition product or supplement on the market. This year, a new mushroom energy drink promises to be the “first ever, truly natural and nutritional energy drink and supplement” to power those resolutionaries through their gym sessions to accomplish their weight-loss goals.
The drink hits shelves at Whole Foods markets, including Swampscott, this month. It claims to contain a blend of medicinal mushrooms including the Cordyceps species, which apparently was used in ancient Chinese medicine to “boost mental clarity, focus and physical endurance as well as provide immune support and even aid in appetite control.”
Dr. Sandra Carter, founder and CEO of NRG Matrix’s parent company, calls it a “healthy alternative to the sugar-laden energy drinks that currently saturate the market.”
An energy drink with no sugar and no caffeine? Really?
After reports from Food and Drug Administration linked high-caffeine drinks like 5-Hour Energy and Monster to 15 deaths last year, NRG Matrix could be welcomed by those looking for the energy to get off the couch and into the gym this year.
Dr. Mona Sigal, a former emergency room physician and medical director at Nourish Health With Food For Life in Peabody, said the “all-natural” claim for drinks like NRG Matrix is no better than “a marketing tool until proven otherwise,” but the appeal for the quick fix, even in “healthy” form, is where our culture goes wrong.
“I don’t believe in supplements,” said Sigal. “If you want energy, you need to eat a cleaner diet. Energy doesn’t come from a bottle. It comes from the right diet all day long, every day.”
Sigal said Americans are leading the pack in a lifestyle of highly-processed foods and drink with less physical activity that countries like India and China are copying, leading to a rise in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease “exported around the globe.”
“Our whole society lives around quick reward,” she said. “People want a pill, a prescription or surgery to lose weight. They self-abuse and then want to fix it with a drink from a bottle. That’s not going to happen.”
She pointed to the American idolization of celebrity diets and trainers as a downfall, using former championship bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example.
“Look at him now. He’s fat,” she said with a laugh.
Sigal teaches classes on nutrition and lifestyle intervention to show clients how to change their health, and perhaps reverse a diagnosis, by eating a plant-based diet.
Sigal said she is not against stimulants like caffeine — she drinks a cup of coffee every morning — but before she switched to a plant-based diet of whole grains rich in fiber and natural nutrients, “I would gargle coffee in the afternoon and evening just to keep myself up and running,” she said. “The way I eat now, energy comes to me through metabolism.”
Personal trainer Andrew Simons, who trains clients at the JCC, said he often sees the get-fit-fast schemes fail soon after New Years.
“A lot of people make a good effort for a couple of weeks and then trail off,” said Simons. “I think a lot of people get carried away going as hard as they possibly can. They put 150 percent into everything that they do, and they burn out.”
Just as important as healthy eating is the judicious use of supplements, if at all. Simons warns against buying pills, powders and supplements without knowing what is really in them and how they affect your body.
“Guys run into GNC and spend hundreds of dollars on products they don’t know anything about and it can cause bad side effects,” he said.
Simons estimated about a third of people subscribing to the “new year, new me” belief are successful because they plan a specific goal and are willing to change their lifestyle. Most often, he said, it’s people who “had some event happen in their lives, like they hurt their knee skiing or discovered a heart problem.”
So what steps can a couch potato make to make their fit lifestyle dreams come true? Simons said first, make very specific goals.
“In planning to run a marathon, you train for it in a specific manner,” he said. “That will lead you down a better path than ‘I just want to get healthier.’”
Sigal said it’s never too late to change unhealthy eating habits. Even without becoming a vegetarian or vegan, Sigal said there are some small steps you can take to be healthier in the New Year and for life. She suggests adding lots of vegetables to a diet and not being afraid of whole-food carbohydrates, like beans and grains. She does warn against too much fruit because of the high sugar. “It’s nature’s candy,” she said. “It’s supposed to be a treat.”
Both Simons and Sigal agree that to achieve the long-term goals of being healthy and fit, balance is key.
“It doesn’t matter how often you go to the gym and how hard you work out,” said Sigal. “As long as you are feeding the body the wrong food, your success on the scale or doctor’s office will be short-lived.”
Calla, the JCC group exercise manager, said her best advice is to use the buddy system.
“Pair up with a personal trainer or get involved in a program,” she said.
Lynn resident Jack Stahl, 82, and his wife Arlene Stahl, 76, motivate each other by working out together three to four times a week. He resolves to keep working with his trainer, saying it feels good for him to work out. Arlene Stahl said she doesn’t make New Years resolutions, but said she wants to make a commitment to working out more by penciling workout sessions in her appointment book.
Calla said finding a class that holds you accountable will motivate you to show up.
But Simons said even gym rats need to remember that you can’t go to the gym twice a week and eat whatever you want.
“It’s not going to work,” he said. “It’s all about consistency. You have to make the effort to go to the gym, eat better and put those things together.”
Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].
North Shore nutrition and fitness experts offer the following tips to help you stick with an exercise and diet program:
”¢ Make very specific goals. If you want to lose weight, consult with an expert to figure out how much is realistic. If you want to train for a marathon, you’ll need a specific plan on how to get there.
”¢ Eat foods that fuel your body properly. If you plan to use supplements, make sure you know what’s in them and what they can do. Or not do. Expert Dr. Mona Sigal advises against them and says a balanced diet with the proper foods is still the best way to get your energy.
Ӣ Find a workout buddy. Jack Stahl, 82,of Lynn, has his wife, Arlene, 76. But you might be able to find one at your workplace. Or try such online services as Exercise Friends. http://www.exercisefriends.com/ or The Daily Mile www.dailymile.com.
Source: Nutrition and exercise experts
