Those who interpret the sweet smell of weight-loss success as the aroma of a warm gooey celebratory cinnamon bun are wrong.
Well, not dead wrong. Treats are all part of a healthy diet.
But now that Times Colonist Health Challenge participants know the mighty power of the calorie and have attained — or are on the road to reaching their health and fitness goals — they know that treats come with tradeoffs.
There are only two choices: calorie reduction or burn.
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A big sweet cinnamon bun can come in at 480 calories.
Since mid-January, when the challenge began, some participants have been eating as few as 1,800 calories daily. So a near-500-calorie treat could be almost one third of their daily intake.
Two cinnamon buns to celebrate success and the end of the challenge on Saturday? Well, at about 16 grams of fat and 35 grams of sugar for just one, you could be playing Heavy Stakes Porker.
Dietitian Heather Dueck, who works out of the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence, believes occasional treats and indulgences are part of a fun, social and active life, but that these conscious food choices must be kept in check.
Perhaps more difficult than losing weight is maintaining that weight loss, says Dueck.
“Whatever you did to lose the weight you have to continue to do whether that was diet or exercise changes or both,” Dueck says.
To allow your weight to yo-yo is “one of the worst things you can do” for overall good health and it lowers one’s metabolism over the long-term, she says.
“You have to be able to find that happy balance where you are able to maintain your weight but still eat the food you like and enjoy the occasional treat,” Dueck says.
Nutritionists and trainers in this challenge tend to agree people often underestimate the calories they take in and overestimate the calories they burn.
Also, at a lower weight, we generally need fewer calories to maintain our weight, says Dueck.
“When I go out, I enjoy a glass of wine or desert but it’s not something I do everyday,” Dueck says.
Debbie Poldrugovac, 57, won entry into the Times Colonist Health Challenge in 2011.
After the tragic death of her 24-year-old son Brent in a motorcycle accident in 2007, the former figure skater fed her feelings of loss. Her weight crept up to about 165 pounds and she was a size 14.
She entered the contest aware that she needed professional guidance and expertise.
Winning was “a gift from my son in heaven,” Poldrugovac says. “I was done. I was ready. The stars all aligned.”
Taking full advantage of the prize package by visiting a PISE dietitian, sports psychologist, physiologist and working out with a PISE trainer, Poldrugovac lost more than 40 pounds and is now a size 4.
Maintaining her exercise and clean eating regime afterward wasn’t difficult at all, she says.
“I was ready and I knew what all the bad food tasted like. I had been there and done that and didn’t want to go back to feeling the way I did,” Poldrugovac says.
Her motivation, she says, was feeling fantastic externally and internally; focussing on her remaining son, Vinko; being physically able to keep up with her grandson Kaeden; and living out her retirement dreams with her husband Vince.
Poldrugovac continues to work out with PISE trainers, rotates her enrolment in boot camps and classes, ran the GoodLife Fitness 1/2 Marathon in 2012, and eats clean food and finds healthy alternatives to bake her favourite treats.
“It’s just become a way of life. I don’t feel deprived at all of the sweet and treat foods because I ‘health-ify’ recipes now and focus on clean eating,” she says.
Poldrugovac disliked running prior to the challenge. She now runs 10 kilometres two to three times a week. On Sunday, after her run with sister Maralee, she enjoyed a cupcake.
As one way to track calories, the Harris-Benedict equation allows you to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate and daily calorie requirements based on your gender, age, height, weight and daily activity level. If math isn’t your first love, there are free calculators online.
Many calorie counters are also found free online and many cardio machines and heart rate monitors can give an indication, based on a variety of factors, how many calories are burned during a certain activity.
You don’t want to live your life in abstinence but you don’t want to live it in ignorance either, says fitness trainer Angela Turnbull, who trains the Van Den Hengel family at Panorama Recreation Centre.
She recommends finding a manageable nutrition and activity plan and to re-evaluate when a weekend glass of wine or beer or a high-caloric treat, for instance, creeps into the work week and tips the scales.
And before finishing one goal, set the next goal for rolling successes, she says.
Suzie Spitfyre, 38, who lost 52 pounds during the Times Colonist Health Challenge last year, is now down a total of 153 pounds, weighing in at 141 pounds.
Before the challenge ended in April 2013, Spitfyre had already renewed her Crystal Pool and Fitness Centre membership, set her sights set on completing the Times Colonist 10 K at the end of April, and renewed her sessions with trainer Jonathan Carpenter. Her weight-loss and fitness goals kept snowballing.
“Nothing tastes as good as healthy and fit feels,” Spitfyre says.
Winning the TC 10 K or half marathons or triathlons is not the goal, completing them is, says Turnbull.
Registering, envisioning and planning for a next goal is key, Turnbull adds. She recommends a goal of scheduling an hour of exercise or activity daily. In off seasons, classes are a good way to maintain cardiovascular and strength conditioning.
“Don’t be sedentary, that gets us in trouble,” Turnbull says.
PISE strength and conditioning coach Chris Hinton says spring is the perfect time to take your newly learned or favourite exercise regime outside.
“Keep things new and novel in order to reduce boredom and to continue to challenge the body in new ways that force it to adapt. Continually modify your training so that you are always making progress and warding off hitting plateaus. Workout with a buddy for added motivation and accountability and track your progress,” he says.
“It’s always motivating to see improvements,” Hinton says. Poldrugovac now trains with Hinton. “Don’t flounder; seek professional expertise and guidance,” she adds.
Having constant communication with a trainer about hitting and improving upon your goals is imperative, Turnbull says
A year later, Spitfyre has maintained her lifestyle changes.
She accepts but controls her binge-eating urges. She attends a group Eating Disorders Clinic to keep her new way of life in check and does a Weight Watchers online program for the diet component. She eats unlimited vegetables and fruit.
She plans in detail for weekend birthday parties and events. If she wants to have wine, she eats a small healthy meal at home beforehand and maybe brings snacks to the party. She says she prepares so that she doesn’t find herself ravenous and confronted with a buffet.
Spitfyre aims to lose a few more pounds to give her a bit of a buffer zone. Once she gets there, she will re-evaluate and devise a maintenance exercise routine with her trainer. She now sees him twice a week for training and twice a week for taekwondo classes.
“Maintenance is not the fun part,” Spitfyre says. “But the nice thing is if [my weight] pops up one week, I got it. I know how to lose weight.”
“You have to consider how you feel at this weight. I know I’m so excited to be where I am and I don’t ever want to go back to that — not feeling great, not feeling excited. This energy I have comes from what I’ve done. To go back would not feel good for my spirit.” And truth be told, no part of overeating is fun, she says.
The Times Colonist Health Challenge never had an end date in Spitfryre’s mind. It was a lifestyle change.
“Having a healthy mind, body, and sprit really feels great and this is the way you want to go forward . . . I didn’t realize I would feel this good.”