by Joan Kent | Apr 1, 2013 | Engage Your Students, Master Instructor Blog, Mental Toughness
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Do any of your students struggle with motivation? Have any of them missed classes, perhaps several in a row, because they “just didn’t feel motivated”? For a number of years, I’ve been an instructor/nutritionist for a weight-management program that includes indoor cycling. Motivation has often been an issue.
Which comes first — motivation or results? My immediate response to that question was “motivation.” How can you get results if you’re not motivated to do anything?
Still, in another life, I had the fitness job of showing people how to use the equipment, getting their health histories, and starting them on programs. Some came in excited, but others were resigned: “My doctor said I need to exercise to lower my blood pressure.” “My wife told me I have to join the club and lose weight.” Some even seemed resentful that they “had to” be there.
So, clearly, fitness programs don’t all start with motivation. Once these new members started to lose a little weight, though, feel more energetic, sleep better, get a few compliments, that’s when they didn’t want to miss a day. That’s when they put cross-trainers in the trunk because it messed up their plans when they forgot them one evening. That’s when they began scheduling activities around their workouts instead of the reverse.
Apparently, for some people, results precede motivation.
This brings up another question. What’s motivation? Several years ago, in the same weight-management program, we had a behavioral psychologist on staff, who defined motivation in terms of excitement. He’d ask participants if they were still motivated, still excited, as if those were one and the same.
Are they? I feel sure the readers of ICI-PRO are highly motivated. Do you jump out of bed every morning, gleefully anticipating the class you’ll soon be teaching, or your own workout, whatever it may be? Or every single ride? I imagine many of us feel excitement on something of a sliding scale.
The early A.M. gym crowd tends to be quite consistent. As I worked with a client one morning, a man who’s at the gym most days approached us to say hello and added, “I really didn’t want to be here today, but I told myself, ‘Gotta do it.’” It was exactly what my client needed to hear; he usually dragged in, complaining about lack of motivation.
So back to the question of what motivation is. Is it enthusiasm? On any given morning, many consistent exercisers probably feel much the same way as the man who got himself to the club with, “Gotta do it.”
What can we do to help students who struggle to stay motivated? I suggest we start by telling them to accept their love-it/hate-it feelings about the workout. One day, your class will be their favorite thing to do all day. The next, they’ll hate it — and you for being the Cycling Nazi. Embrace the dichotomy.
A Book Of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi holds one (rather esoteric) key. The way of the warrior is death. In a life or death situation, the warrior chooses death, accepts and embodies it so there’s no fear, no desire to back away. Jim Karanas — NO surprise — trained this way for a 24-hour rowing event. Substituting pain for death, he embraced the pain and actually sought it out, rather than trying to avoid or lessen it.
Why not apply this to cycling classes? Accept, embrace and seek out all of the frustrations: discomfort, tedium, sleep deprivation, inconvenience, and more.
Mark Twain said, “Make it a point to do something every day that you don’t want to do.” He claimed it led to the habit of doing one’s duty without pain. I see it as the warrior’s way — saying yes, rather than no, to the pain. Do something each day that you don’t want to do simply to stay on the warrior’s path, to move through and past those who think there’s something wrong with feeling the pain in the first place.
Tell students it’s okay to come in with scowling faces. No matter how much they didn’t want to be there at first, they’ll almost always be glad they showed up.
I’ve pushed through workouts, competitions and stage performances despite injuries, fatigue, boredom, lack of prep time, or simple lack of desire. My decades as a fitness pro have taught me that anyone who wonders why someone would do something unpleasant won’t adhere to a fitness program for any length of time.
Help your students redefine motivation. I read somewhere that a key to happiness is to learn to recognize a neutral state as happiness. The same can be said for motivation — it’s not necessarily enthusiasm, let alone excitement.
Sometimes motivation is nothing more than planning, then getting where you have to be to do what you need to do, so you can get the results you say you want … pushing through obstacles, pain and discouragement, all the way to the goal.
You could call it the dark side of joy.
“Forget about likes and dislikes; they are of no consequence.
Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.”
— George Bernard Shaw
by Joan Kent | Jan 14, 2013 | Health and Wellness, Master Instructor Blog
Image from http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com – click to read an additional article supporting this post.
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
A while ago, based on some long-held suspicions, I ran a PubMed search on weight gain and weight loss to assess the accuracy of a widely held belief. The belief, as the above title suggests, is that weight management hinges on the so-called “simple arithmetic” of calories in and calories out.
Even with the limited time I had for the search, I still located approximately 35-40 articles in various science journals that seem to challenge the calorie theory. I’ve categorized the results below, but need to start with a caveat. Most of the studies cited in this post were done on animals. (I’ve indicated specifically when the subjects were human.)
Some people will object because of that. For their benefit, I’d like to make two points: 1) Studies of this type would be unethical to perform on human subjects. No review board anywhere would approve research that involves locking people in a room, taking all control of their food intake away from them, and forcing them to gain or lose weight. 2) Are you truly prepared to state that weight management centers on calories in/calories out in the human body, while it’s Anything Goes with animals? Knowledgeable veterinarians, for example, have confirmed that the metabolic effects of Cushing’s disease, including the role of hormones in weight gain, are identical in humans and dogs.
So what happened in the studies? To sum it up, dietary factors were found to disrupt the link between calorie intake and weight, and different nutrients and hormones affected the weight outcome.
Fat content of the diet affected weight gain and loss.
– Rats on high-fat diets developed severe obesity without overconsumption of calories (4 studies).
– Mice showed greater weight gained per calories consumed (called “feeding efficiency”) on high-fat versus low-fat diets (1 study).
– Calorie-restricted, isocaloric diets of 10% and 50% fat both reduced body weight in rats, but body fat was higher in the 50% group (1 study).
– Total fat intake, rather than calorie intake, correlated with weight gain and was due principally to the saturated fat component (1 study).
– Saturated fat is associated with greater weight gain than unsaturated fat (2 studies). [This makes no sense from a calorie standpoint, since all fats contains 9 calories per gram. But saturated and unsaturated fats affect hormones differently, as mentioned briefly in a previous ICG® post on Cholesterol.]
– Fecal analysis showed people who consume nuts regularly excrete more fat, suggesting a discrepancy in gross calorie intake and calories absorbed (1 study).
Sugar content of the diet affected weight gain and loss.
– Abdominal fat deposits were caused by high-sucrose, isocaloric diets in rats, although the rats showed no differences in weight gain when compared with controls (1 study).
– Rats fed sucrose plus standard chow did not eat more calories than controls, but gained significantly more weight per calorie consumed (feeding efficiency) and had higher body fat than controls (1 study).
– Severe obesity developed in rats on a high-sugar diet and in rats on a high-fat diet, although controls eating standard chow ate significantly more calories than either the sugar group or the fat group (1 study).
– In a study of human identical twins, the dietary factor isolated as causing a difference in BMI between twins was sugar intake (1 study).
Nutrients affected sugar-induced weight gain.
– The protein content of a high-sucrose diet was inversely related to the effects of sucrose on weight gain and feeding efficiency (1 study). [Protein triggers the release of glucagon; its effects oppose those of insulin. More on insulin below.]
– Minerals added to a standard chow-plus-sucrose diet did not change calories, but decreased weight gain and feeding efficiency and improved glucose tolerance (1 study).
Insulin, a “fat storage” hormone, is a factor in weight gain.
– Rats injected with insulin gain weight with no change in diet or calorie intake (standard textbooks).
– Diet-induced insulin resistance preceded obesity development in rats (1 study).
– Insulin resistance functions as an adaptive mechanism to prevent further weight gain in obese human subjects (3 studies).
– A good night’s sleep vs. restless sleep altered hormone balance. Restless sleep caused fat storage to increase (2 studies). 

 [This result seems contradictory in light of calorie balance: Wouldn’t tossing and turning all night burn more calories than sleeping soundly?]
– The 24-hour rate of fat oxidation by skeletal muscle may be determined either by genetics or by diet. Insulin-triggering foods lower it (2 studies).
– High fructose intake induces high insulin levels, which can cause weight gain (5 studies).
– Chronic stress increases insulin and decreases brain dopamine, norepinephrine and beta-endorphin. The changes shift food preferences to carbs (specifically sugar) and fats, leading to weight gain (9 studies).
What appears to be a balance of calories in/calories out is often the result of a change in diet composition. That, in turn, changes the hormonal response. Hormones can affect weight more profoundly than calories. (More about hormones in a future post.)
Despite the documentation, some of you will believe this, some will not. What I hope is you’ll avoid telling your students that weight management is just simple arithmetic. Instead, please suggest that they shift their diets in a more healthful direction.
by Joan Kent | Jul 16, 2012 | Master Instructor Blog
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
OK, it’s mean for sure. But when researchers want to stress mice, they pinch their tails. The first thing the mice do? Run to their food bowls and eat. It’s a beta-endorphin thing. Beta-endorphin is released in response to either pleasure or pain/distress and beta-endorphin increases appetite.
Have any of your students ever complained that they gain weight when they’re stressed? Did you believe them? Did you think they were just blaming stress to avoid taking responsibility for indulging in high-calorie foods?
Well, when the stressed and overeating mice are given a choice between ordinary mouse chow and crumbled cookies, which do you think they choose? Yes, cookies — another beta-endorphin thing. Released beta-endorphin makes endorphin-triggering foods — like sugar or fat — more appealing. So, since stressed mice do what we do under the same circumstances, maybe we can sympathize with our students who gain weight under stress.
Of course, with people it’s more complex. Those who are highly susceptible to the effects of beta-endorphin may react to stress by eating. For others, though, short-term stress decreases appetite. Having to make an important early morning presentation at work could bring on a stress chemical cascade that leads to skipping breakfast. Once the presentation is done, a different hormone — cortisol — takes over and increases appetite. Lunch that day might make up for the skipped breakfast, and then some.
In long-term stress, cortisol plays a more prominent role. Its appetite-stimulating effect lingers. It decreases serotonin, which can cause anxiety or depression. Those mood states in turn cause cravings — mostly for carbs and, of course, not for healthful ones. Low serotonin also reduces satiety (especially for carbs) and increases impulsivity, making it more likely that we’ll eat the junky carbs we’re craving.
Long-term high cortisol levels also decrease dopamine and norepinephrine. When serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine drop, it leads not only to cravings, but to addictions, impulsive and compulsive behaviors, and a preference for carbs and sugars.
Over time, cortisol can decrease beta-endorphin. Chronically low beta-endorphin increases the risk for addictive or compulsive behaviors, including alcoholism, bulimia, binge eating, and more.
None of this even touches on the metabolic problems caused by cortisol. Fat deposits in the trunk, the more “metabolically harmful” location. Too much cortisol can cause glucose disturbances and even insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol (the good stuff), and high or dense LDL (the bad stuff, which is worse when dense). Insulin resistance also causes plaque formation in the arteries, heart disease, various types of cancer, and more.
Obviously, long-term stress leads to serious consequences in health, metabolism and appetite. So it might not be the student’s fault for running to the food bowl and eating the cookies, but, health-wise, it’s far from ideal.
Fortunately, in addition to meditation, deep breathing, visualization and the like, there are nutrition solutions for stress management. (You knew they were coming.)
It’s understandable that a stressed-out student might want a martini or a dish of chocolate ice cream, but succumbing to that urge will probably backfire. Stress depletes B vitamins, which are critical in the formation of key brain chemicals. Alcohol — the go-to stress-reliever for some — also destroys B vitamins and makes it more difficult to “stabilize” brain chemicals. Avoiding alcohol may feel tough to do under stress but helps far more than drinking will.
In addition, long-term alcohol or sugar consumption will eventually decrease serotonin and beta-endorphin, resulting in rotten moods and major cravings. So staying away from sugar will help, too.
Instead, encourage the student to eat protein foods throughout the day to supply the amino acid precursors for serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Also encourage the student to get B vitamins for good brain function. Specific B vitamins that we need for neurochemical balance include thiamin, found in whole grains and meats; B6, found in whole grains, eggs, chicken, fish and liver; and folic acid, found in leafy greens and liver.
Naturally, encourage the student to keep taking your cycling classes as often as possible for the stress relief they provide. Cycling also reduces the likelihood of insulin resistance by making muscles more responsive to insulin, which is always a good thing. If the calories burned help prevent weight gain, that’s another plus.
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by Joan Kent | Jun 25, 2012 | Health and Wellness, Master Instructor Blog
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Fitness and health overlap but sometimes need to be considered separately. You can be fit but not healthy. How often have we seen that with pro athletes? You can also be healthy but not fit. We may see this with our students.
This post focuses on health because teaching our students is typically fitness-oriented. As instructors, we know our health matters, and that just staying fit may not address health issues that crop up as we work hard, feel stressed, get older.
Probably everyone agrees that what we eat affects our health. Nutrition approaches to health are varied. Some people focus on organic foods, some on raw foods, others on herbs, phytonutrients and colorful pigments. There are low-carb, macrobiotic, and Ayurvedic diets, as well as a lot more.
One key, but often overlooked, factor in staying healthy is prostaglandin production. Prostaglandins are short-lived, hormone-like chemicals that are produced by the body’s cells and move from cell to cell, rather than through the bloodstream. They regulate all kinds of cellular activities.
Inflammation has become a hot topic in medicine. More and more research indicates that all disease begins with some kind of inflammation. As it turns out, inflammation is caused by a specific type of prostaglandin. And foods influence prostaglandin production.
There are three types of prostaglandins, made from different fatty acids.
Series 1 prostaglandins control factors that most people recognize as beneficial. They dilate blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, inhibit unnecessary blood clotting, decrease risk of autoimmune disease, improve T-cell function, improve insulin sensitivity, decrease pain, decrease inflammation, decrease the need for sleep, alleviate depression, and much, much more.
Series 1 prostaglandins are made from dietary fatty acids in the omega-6 category. These include black current seed, flaxseed, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, walnuts, borage oil, evening primrose oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, and more.
Series 2 prostaglandins do basically the opposite of all of the Series 1 functions listed above (as well as the unlisted Series 1 functions). Series 2 prostaglandins promote pain and inflammation, making them a prime culprit in disease.
Series 2 prostaglandins are also made from omega-6 fatty acids. However, high levels of insulin secretion will cause a different enzyme to act on the omega-6 fats, resulting in production of Series 2, rather than Series 1. As mentioned in previous posts, foods that trigger high insulin include sugars, processed carbs (like white bread), saturated fats, alcohol, and others.
Series 3 prostaglandins reduce the negative effects of Series 2. They decrease inflammation and enhance immune function. Series 3 are made from omega-3 fatty acids, which we hear about often these days because of their anti-inflammatory benefits. That anti-inflammatory property is one that can reduce what is presently considered the cause of all disease.
Omega-3 fatty acids include dark green leafy vegetables, fish, black currant seed, flaxseed, hemp seed, walnuts and pumpkin seed.
The easiest way to “bottom line” this and get the benefits is to:
- Consume omega-3 fats. You’ll note that many of them also contain omega-6s, so you’ll get the precursors of both Series 1 and Series 3 prostaglandins.
- Avoid junky carbs and limit alcohol. Both trigger high levels of insulin, which lead to Series 2 production.
- Avoid all-carb meals or snacks whenever possible. Eating protein and healthful fats every time you eat can modify insulin secretion.
Reducing the insulin impact of your diet can reduce the incidence of Series 2 prostaglandin production. This in turn may decrease the incidence of both serious diseases and inconvenient ones, such as colds.
I hope this helps you stay healthy.
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by Joan Kent | Jun 11, 2012 | Health and Wellness
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Everyone’s idea of a healthful diet is somewhat different these days. Never before has there been so much information on nutrition or so much disagreement about it. Protein is important for a number of reasons.
The functions of protein are varied. The first eight below are in hierarchical order.
– Formation of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine
– Immune support
– Formation of hormones
– Insulin receptor site turnover
– Reproductive demands
– pH balance
– Fluid balance
– Formation of enzymes
Other protein functions, in no particular order, include wound healing; tissue growth, repair and replacement; and the formation of neurotransmitters, transport proteins, blood proteins, visual pigments and nonessential amino acids.
Energy use is at the bottom of the hierarchy, although protein is the body’s second largest store of energy. In times of stress, energy use becomes more important, and amino acids are converted to glucose to a greater degree.
Protein stimulates the release of glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Its effects essentially oppose those of insulin, another hormone made by the pancreas. For example, insulin converts glucose and protein to fat for storage, while glucagon converts protein and fats to glucose and moves them into the bloodstream for use as fuel. Insulin increases the production of cholesterol, while glucagon decreases it.
Glucagon is typically released under two circumstances — when we exercise and when we eat protein.
Protein also promotes the release of CCK (cholecystokinin), a powerful satiety hormone that makes us feel full and also reduces the desire for carbohydrates. It was mentioned in an earlier post on sugar cravings that a low-protein diet is one reason people may crave sugar.
Protein is a significant mood enhancer because it increases levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. Protein provides tyrosine and phenylalanine, the amino acids used to produce these chemicals. As they told us in 7th grade biology, amino acids are “the building blocks of protein.”
Dopamine is our ultimate brain reward chemical, an alertness and feel-good chemical that, incidentally, is triggered by every addictive drug.
Norepinephrine is also associated with alertness and a feeling of brain reward. It has antidepressant properties. In fact, the earliest antidepressant drugs targeted norepinephrine levels. It’s also an analgesic.
Protein provides tryptophan, another amino acid. Tryptophan is the amino acid that the brain uses to make serotonin. Serotonin makes us feel relaxed and calm. It’s an antidepressant with anti-anxiety properties, as well. It, too, is an analgesic.
At high levels, serotonin can make us lethargic and sleepy and even bring on an early desire to quit endurance efforts. This has to do with the way tryptophan is transported to the brain. Carbs make that happen, but too many carbs raise serotonin levels too much. Protein can block that effect.
(BTW, Prozac and Zoloft target serotonin levels. The newest antidepressants target both serotonin and norepinephrine. You may have seen magazine ads or heard ads on radio or TV that say, “Depression hurts.” Depression doesn’t cause pain. But because it’s associated with brain chemicals that are also analgesics, low levels of the chemicals may exaggerate pain that’s already in the body.)
Protein provides the B vitamins (thiamin, niacin, B6, folate) that are catalysts in the synthesis of dopamine, norephinephrine and serotonin.
With so many key actions by protein going on, it seems obvious that the body/brain needs substantial levels of protein. Nutrition recommendations sometimes underplay protein, which may reflect under-emphasis on protein’s neurochemical effects.
A general protein recommendation for endurance athletes is to divide body weight in pounds by 2.2 to convert to kilograms, and multiply by 1.2 to 1.4 for daily grams.
High-protein foods include fish, poultry, beef, lamb, shrimp, crab, eggs, cottage cheese. If you’d like to use yogurt as protein, the only two brands I know with significant protein are Fage and Trader Joe’s nonfat Greek-style yogurt. Don’t get “just any” Greek yogurt. Many of them have much more carb than protein, and the flavored ones contain lots of sugar.
Several foods are considered protein but actually aren’t. One is cheese, which is primarily saturated fat. Nuts are another; they’re primarily unsaturated fat. A third is quinoa, a whole grain that’s primarily carb/starch.
These foods do have protein, but almost every food offers a combination of protein, carbs and fats — or at least two out of three. Using the example of quinoa, a food that’s 70% carb with the remaining calories equally divided between protein and fat will have a completely different neurochemical effect than a food higher in protein.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat these foods; just don’t confuse them with — or use them as — protein.
For many years, I’ve recommended a “plate” format that the USDA’s brand-new, Food Pyramid-replacing plate resembles. I steer away from the USDA version because it overemphasizes fruit.
Instead, cover half of your plate with vegetables and divide the other half equally between protein and complex starches (quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.). Add healthful fats (nuts, oils, seeds) in moderate portions. If you want to eat fruit instead of vegetables, say at breakfast, have a serving, rather than half a plate. One serving is a medium-size fruit or half a cup.
My main suggestion is to find high-quality protein foods that you like and include some with every meal or snack. The plate format should make it easy to do.
