How the South Beach Diet Works

The father of The South Beach Diet is cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Fl.  Highly processed carbs, according to the South Beach theory, get digested too quickly. That makes insulin levels (a hormone the body makes to process sugars) spike. And once those fast-burning carbs are used up, your high insulin level makes you crave more food.
Cindy Moore, RD, a director of nutrition therapy at Cleveland Clinic and a former spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, discussed The South Beach Diet
Moore says the diet truly does meet several of the criteria for a healthy diet. It’s rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein, she says. Most importantly, it doesn’t leave out any major food groups.
Moore warns that during the induction phase, much of the lost weight is water weight. Losing this much water can throw your electrolyte balance off. So if you’re following the diet, it’s a good idea to work closely with a professional.
Despite the popularity of The South Beach Diet, Moore warns, there’s no one-size-fits-all diet. A professional can help you individualize The South Beach Diet to fit your health needs.
Source: Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy, Cleveland Clinic.  Courtesy of WebMD: Live Transcripts

Group Wellness Meetings

Join us for Group Wellness and Weight Management Round Table Discussions!

Optimum Results is now offering Group Wellness Meetings at Laurel Creek Country Club.  Each meeting will be led by various health and fitness professionals in the area.  Topics will range from exercise ideas to diet tips to motivational sessions.  Through this group setting, you will not only learn from the professional, but be able to gather ideas from the group while discussing your own ideas and questions.  Each session will end with a brief one-on-one meeting with that week’s moderator to go over specific individual goals and issues. 
These sessions will be accompanied by handouts designed to keep you on track, as well as charts and journals that can be monitored by the group leader, or that can be used personally.
Each moderator is not only specifically trained to deal with the common issues that affect most of our lifestyles, but they will have current experience dealing with clients similar to each and every group member.
The ability to succeed in any of your fitness goals is decided by three important things: support, planning, and adherence to your plan.  These meetings are designed to give you this support and adherence through group discussion, professional guidance, as well as the new and exciting ideas that will be discussed each week.  The brief 1-1 discussions at the end of each meeting will help keep you on track and get over the obstacles that inevitably pop up.  That means these meetings are designed for everyone; from the person just starting to lose weight, to the accomplished triathlete looking for the extra edge.  Each discussion is meant to help everyone!

So in just under 30 minutes each week, you can enrich your health and wellness knowledge, garner and offer support with your peers, and discuss your current program individually, allowing you to adhere and modify according to your own lifestyle.

This service will be provided for free to any and all current Optimum Results’ clients, and will be available to everyone else for the nominal fee of $15 per session.  Discounted session packages will be available as well.

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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