How many of you have started a new gym membership, went every other day the first couple weeks, then soon lost motivation and now you’re lucky to make it a few times a month. Finding your motivation is key to staying with an exercise plan, and making it a regular part of your anti-aging lifestyle. Certain simple lifestyle changes, techniques and mindsets can help to keep motivation steadily high.

Use a scale every day – Weigh yourself first thing every morning without heavy clothes, before breakfast, and after using the bathroom.  Studies have shown that people who weigh themselves regularly lose more weight and keep the pounds off more effectively than those who don’t. Being aware of your weight can put you more in tune with the factors that cause it to go up and down, to track your progress on a diet or fitness plan, and to allow you to adjust accordingly as weight fluctuates.

It’s all in the mind – Studies of elite athletes have shown that the ideal ratio of pre-event visualization to physical training is 70-30. That’s seventy percent visualization. Just psyching yourself up while strength training can increase up to 8%. Visualizing doing perfect benchpresses can add about 12% more power than being distracted. Repeating affirmations or mantras during endurance exercises can help increase stamina and performance.

Plan ahead – Chances are, if you are not planning your workouts in advance and scheduling around them, something will come up or you will find an excuse to skip workouts. The morning is the best time to work out. Not only can early morning workouts have beneficial effects on your mental and physical health throughout the day, but people’s days tend to get busier as the day moves on, and they are less likely to be interrupted by things coming up before the start of the work day.

Consistency is Key – “Well, maybe I wont work all week, but I’ll take a really long run on Sunday.” That’s the equivalent of saying “well, maybe I wont brush my teeth all week, but I’ll brush them extra long on Sunday.” Your body will begin to lose conditioning only three days after stopping working out. Adults should work out at least 30 minutes, 5 times per week. There are significant additional health benefits for working out an hour a day, 5 times per week. Recent studies have found that even 15 minutes of exercise a day have incredible health benefits.

With a little help from my friends – Studies have shown that having an exercise partner or group can help you stay with an exercise routine. Not only are you committing to yourself, but you’re making a commitment to someone else, which makes it that much harder to break. You can also help each other track progress, keep things fun, and support and motivate each other. Running with a partner, in a group, or in a public event can increase performance, because of an aspect of social comparison and often competition.

Set your sights – Signing up for a specific event or having a very specific fitness or health goal in mind can dramatically improve your motivation and help you stay on track. If you know you have to be in shape for a marathon in 3 months, you will be able to figure out better how much you need to be running to accomplish the goal. If  your goal is unclear or nebulous, it is hard to track progress and to stay on course.

Do what you love – Working out should not be tedious! If you hate the elliptical machine, it’s going to be hard to committing 2 hours a week to using it. And why would you? There are so many fun, challenging, and unique ways to stay in shape. Whether it’s basketball, kayaking, hiking, skiing, surfing, jumping on a trampoline, martial arts, or even gardening, there are so many activities to choose from that burn major calories and that you can actually look forward to doing. It’s much easier to stay motivated when your workout isn’t a chore you feel you have to do, but something you genuinely enjoy. And if you really don’t like any other physical activity, at least can sex burn 85 calories or more in a half an hour.

The wave of the future – Modern technology has made incredible innovations geared to make exercise more fun, effective, and accessible. You can now where a sensor on your wrist that’s linked to an app that can keep track of your heart rate, calories burned, steps, workouts, and diet, while GPS tracking the distance of your runs. One app even let’s you take a picture of your meal, and it will tell you how many calories and carbs it has. Recent have studies have found that personal mobile exercise management apps improve weight loss. Certain exercise related and physically active video games have been shown to be effective for weight loss and fitness. Investing a little bit in engaging gadgetry and gear can motivate you to put it to use more. After all, you want to get your money’s worth.

Staying on a fitness plan isn’t always easy, but making your health a priority can help you grit your teeth and workout even when it’s tough. Making these simple lifestyle changes can help you stay on track. Rejuvalife Vitality Institute is here to support your health and wellbeing goals. We offer comprehensive Fitness and Nutrition Plans, Nutritional Supplements, Lifestyle Management, and Medically Supervised Weight Loss.

For Your Health!

Let’s be honest. Most of us would love to lose an extra inch or two around our midsections. How nice it would be to fit into those jeans from college without having to suck in, or show off a slim, sexy body at the beach. But there may be an even more compelling reason to get rid of that stubborn belly fat once and for all. Research is now showing that fat specifically around the midsection or waist is a major risk factor for Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, Hypertension, Stroke, some forms of cancer, and even Dementia. We all know that obesity can dramatically increases risk factors for these diseases and more, but excess belly fat may also be a warning sign for mildly overweight people, or even people of an otherwise healthy physique and appropriate weight.

Studies have shown that excess midsection fat is strongly associated with greater resistance to insulin.  In insulin resistant people, muscle, fat and liver cells do not use the insulin effectively, so the pancreas tries to compensate by producing more insulin. If the pancreas cannot keep up with the body’s need for insulin, excess levels of glucose will build up, leading to Diabetes. Insulin resistant people also have excessively high levels of insulin in their bloodstream, which leads to inflammation. Inflammation itself has recently gained attention as a direct cause of a staggering number of diseases and health conditions.

The obvious contributor to excess stomach fat is poor lifestyle choices. A diet consisting of high fat, high sugar, processed and otherwise nutritionally lacking food, combined with a lack of exercise, and excessive drinking will all help you pack on those pounds.

Research is supporting the idea that greater life stress may be the other major contributor to excess stomach fat. In particular, chronic stress that is associated with hopelessness, helplessness, or a feeling of defeat is associated with excess production of the stress hormone cortisol. When you have chronically high cortisol levels, the body craves carbohydrates and fats, and the extra calories tend to head right for the midsection. A recent study has also show that lean women in particular may be more prone to develop stomach fat in response to stress.

Another major factor for retaining midsection fat is change in hormonal balance, due to aging or as a result of other conditions. For women, changes in estrogen levels have a particularly strong impact on retaining stomach fat. As estrogen levels change with age, fat goes to the abdominals instead of to the hips and thighs, where it was previously needed for reproductive support.

Rejuvalife is here to help support the total health and wellbeing of our patients, and assist them in acheiving their health, weight loss and aesthetic goals. We offer comprehensive fitness and nutrition programs to promote overall healthy lifestyle, as well as medically supervised weight loss programs. Rejuvalife is on the cutting edge of non-surgical advanced liposuction procedures, to remove excess body fat in the abdominals and other problem areas directly. We also offer Hormone Replacement Therapy to return your hormonal levels to their optimal concentration and fight the effects of aging.

You really are what you eat! A study from Harvard School of Public Health suggests that the types of food you eat, not just the calories they contain, may be crucial to avoiding age-related weight gain.  The study, led by Dr. Dariush Mazaffarian and Dr. Frank Hu, collected data from more than 120,000 people, over a period of 12 to 20 years. Participants filled out a survey every 2 years, providing specific information on changes to their physical activity, television watching patterns, sleep habits and diet. Their weight was recorded every 4 years.

Increasing consumption of the following foods led to major average weight gains over the 4 year period:

• Sugary drinks and soda – A pound or more
• Refined grains and sweets – A half a pound
• Processed meats and unprocessed red meat – A pound or more
• Potato chips – A pound or more
• French Fries – Over 3 pounds!

In contrast, increasing consumption of vegetables, whole grains and nuts led to significant average weight reductions. Eating yogurt produced the most dramatic effects, resulting in an average of .82 pounds of weight loss.

The study identified several general lifestyle changes also linked to long-term weight gain. Increases in physical activity during the 4 year period were associated with gaining less weight, while absolute levels of physical activity were not associated with change in weight. Sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours was associated with weight gain. Being a couch potato (not just eating them) also led to major weight gains. Increases in the time people spent watching TV led to an average of a third of a pound for every hour of TV watching per day.

The researchers believe that highly processed foods may lead to an overall greater total intake of calories, because they do not satisfy hunger as well as unprocessed and higher fiber foods. Dr. Hu says that “the idea that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods is a myth that needs to be debunked.”

Rejuvalife Vitality Institute is here to help you achieve your weight management goals, whether you want to shed those extra few pesky pounds or need help with serious weight loss. We offer personalized nutrition and fitness plans, cutting edge anti-aging medicine, and comprehensive medical weight loss programs.

And don’t forget to check out our simple nutritious and delicious Sho-Stopper Recipes!

We all know that breakfast is “the most important meal of the day” but did you know that the quality of your breakfast can also make a big impact on your hunger levels for remainder of the day.  If your idea of breakfast is a bowl of Cheerios, a cup of fruit, or a bagel you may find yourself hungry later in the day and therefore, unable lose weight. 

According to new research from the University of Missouri, protein may be magic ingredient to ward off hunger and manage your weight.

Researcher, Heather Leidy from the University of Missouri has found that eating a healthy breakfast, especially one high in protein, increases satiety and reduces hunger throughout the day. In addition, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) the researchers found that eating a protein-rich breakfast reduces the brain signals controlling food motivation and reward-driven eating behavior.

In the study, Leidy assessed physiological hunger and satiety by measuring perceived appetite sensations and hormonal markers in combination with psychological reward-driven motivation to eat, using fMRI to identify brain activation in specific regions related to food motivation and reward.

The researchers decided to target ‘breakfast-skipping’ teens for two reasons, Leidy said. First, breakfast skipping has been strongly associated with unhealthy snacking, overeating (especially at night), weight gain and obesity. Second, approximately 60 percent of adolescents skip breakfast on a daily basis.

For three weeks, the teens either continued to skip breakfast or consumed 500-calorie breakfast meals containing cereal and milk (which contained normal quantities of protein) or higher protein meals prepared as Belgium waffles, syrup and yogurt. At the end of each week, the volunteers completed appetite and satiety questionnaires. Right before lunch, the volunteers completed a brain scan, using fMRI, to identify brain activation responses.

Both breakfast meals led to increased fullness and reduced the level of hunger throughout the morning, when compared to those who skipped breakfast.  fMRI results showed that brain activation in regions controlling food motivation and reward was reduced prior to lunch time when breakfast was consumed in the morning.  The higher protien breakfast led to even greater changes in appetite, satiety and reward-driven eating behavior compared to the normal protein breakfast.

“Incorporating a healthy breakfast containing protein-rich foods can be a simple strategy for people to stay satisfied longer, and therefore, be less prone to snacking,” Leidy said. “People reach for convenient snack foods to satisfy their hunger between meals, but these foods are almost always high in sugar and fat and add a substantial amount of calories to the diet. These findings suggest that a protein-rich breakfast might be an effective strategy to improve appetite control and prevent overeating in young people.”

Start your morning with two eggs or egg whites on whole grain toast, Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and unsweetened coconut, oatmeal with chopped nuts and fresh berries, or a fruit/veggie smoothie with hemp protein and flax.  Aim for at least 15-20 grams of protein and 5-10 grams of fiber to kick start your day and keep you satisfied until lunch time.

Heather J. Leidy, Rebecca J. Lepping, Cary R. Savage, Corey T. Harris.” Neural Responses to Visual Food Stimuli After a Normal vs. Higher Protein Breakfast in Breakfast-Skipping Teens: A Pilot fMRI Study.”  Obesity, 5 May 2011.

With the summer season comes the desire to get back in shape, the need fit into those summer shorts, and feel our best from the inside out.  There does come a point when diet and exercise may not be enough in order for you to reach your goals.  That’s where we come in.  Rejuvalife is here to counsel and support you throughout your journey to improve your general health and attain an appropriate body fat percentage for a slimmer, more energetic and healthier you.  All of our programs are tailored for each patient’s specific needs.  At Rejuvalife Vitality Institute we offer medically supervised weight loss programs, anti-aging medicine, and our nutrition and fitness plans.

Our holistic approach to optimal health includes individual counseling and support, a thorough, on-going analysis of your progress, and a custom food and exercise plan to ensure ongoing progress. We’ll customize a unique medically supervised weight loss program to help you reach your goals.

• Stress Management – Pressures from work, family, and health issues can be demanding on our minds and bodies. Our adrenal glands, which normally supply energy boosting hormones, often become weak from stress, leaving us fatigued and sluggish. Dr. Berger’s regulated doses of cortisol and DHEA have proven effective in counteracting these symptoms. Learn more
• Brain Balance & Mental Clarity – Unexplained mood changes, weight gain, fatigue, cognitive or memory impairment, insomnia, or sexual dysfunction are common symptoms of imbalanced brain chemistry. Learn more
• Fitness & Exercise – Improving your fitness level is one of the best things you can do for your health. Whether you prefer yoga or a boot camp approach to fitness, our team of trainers, bio-mental and exercise physiologists can design a time-efficient exercise program that will meet your personal needs and fit into your daily schedule. Using exercise and strength programs, we show you how to counter the changes in body composition, commonly observed with aging, to enable you to maintain your vitality and stamina. Learn more
• Diet & Nutrition – Good nutrition increases your ability to stay healthy and feel youthful. Helping you to develop good eating habits is a crucial part of our anti-aging program. First, we determine your body’s deficiencies and excesses through thorough tests which include metabolic screening, cholesterol measurement, digestive system analysis, nutritional profiling, lipid and omega-3 profiling, and measures of body fat and lean body mass. Based on our findings, we will tailor a program that is suitable to your specific needs and goals. Learn more
• Sleep – Healthy habits will help you to sleep at night. Before you fill that prescription, look at your habits and your environment. While sleep aids typically work short term, insomnia is often symptomatic of a larger lifestyle problem. Focusing on improved, healthy daytime habits can help you sleep at night.

Recommendations from Dr. Berger:

• Moderate aerobic exercise to reduce anxiety
• Reducing caffeine intake
• Avoiding large meals right before bedtime
• Consultation with Dr. Berger to evaluate your concerns
• Come in for a personalized treatment plan from Dr. Berger

How often do you get a craving that you just can’t seem to get out of your mind until you indulge in it.  You know your body doesn’t need it, you’re not even hungry, but you just can’t kick the craving.  You may not be the only one.

There is a new small study that suggests food lovers, wheather craving or indulging in their fixes, appear to have brain activity similar to that of substance abusers.

The study of observed 48 young women, all around the age of twenty, and ranging from lean to obese.  Each woman had fMRI as they were exposed to two conditions — anticipation of a rich chocolate milkshake versus a tasteless control solution, and consumption of the milkshake versus the tasteless control.

Ashley Gearhardt, MS, of Yale, and colleagues reported that while the women were anticipating drinking the chocolate milkshake, those with higher food addiction scores showed a greater amount of activation in brain regions associated with reward.

The woman had reduced activation of inhibitory brain regions seen on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when the women actually got to drink the milkshake.  ”Similar patterns of neural activation are implicated in addictive-like eating behavior and substance abuse and dependence,” Gearhardt and colleagues wrote.

The researchers have also noted that prior research has shown that there’s an addictive process in the development of obesity.

Food and drug use both result in dopamine release in the brain’s mesolimbic regions, and the degree of release correlates with subjective reward from both food and drug use.

Gearhardt’s group concluded that the study “supports the theory that compulsive food consumption may be driven in part by an enhanced anticipation of the rewarding properties of food,” and that eating “may override desires to limit caloric food consumption … resulting in disinhibited food consumption.”

If your cravings have taken control of your eating habits, and you are now experienceing the negative effects of weight gain you may want to consider our medical weight loss program.

Dr. Berger carefully considers several factors when tailoring a flexible, convenient weight loss program whether you just want to lose weight or need to fight obesity. These include your unique genetic, medical, social, metabolic and emotional situations. Furthermore, our team of weight loss experts is able to provide you with the steadfast medical, behavioral and emotional support needed to help you achieve and maintain your weight loss goals.

Information gathered from MedPage Today http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Addictions/25713

One of the leading health problems today is sleep deprivation effects. On average, we sleep 2 hours less than 100 years ago, and we are just not designed to function like that. In our over stimulated and time poor world, we tend to cut out sleep time to carry out other tasks.

Inadequate sleep can show up in many ways you might not think of, like weakened immune system, impaired thinking abilities, and increased stress levels. Some people may be fine on 5 hours of sleep but most of us need at least 6-8 hours every day.

When we party all night, or stay up with a sick child, we expect to feel at least a bit awful the next day. We know that if we need to drive a long way or do a task requiring major accuracy and focus that staying up late isn’t a good idea. What we don’t usually consider though is the cumulative effect of that 2 hours less a night. Chronic sleep deprivation builds up a major sleep debt your body can’t continue to pay.

The Stress / Sleep Deprivation Merry go round

Excess cortisol from chronic stress lowers our ability to sleep deeply. Inadequate quality sleep then increases cortisol making it increasingly difficult to deal with stress

Sleep Deprivation Effects and Risks

While one of the most obvious sleep deprivation effects is fatigue, it can more commonly affect your metabolism, resulting in weight gain. Other consequences include increasing the risk of diabetes, and hypertension. Because our immune system needs deep slow wave sleep when we don’t get enough, we may be more likely to get sick. Inadequate rest can harm our health, career, relationships and overall well-being.

Obesity and weight gain

The hormones Leptin and Grehlin control appetite and weight gain and loss. Leptin signals that we are full, while Grehlin increases appetite. Sleep deprivation cause overall levels of Grehlin to increase along with appetite, especially for refined carbohydrates. Levels of Leptin decrease, so we don’t feel satisfied after eating either.

One of the most dastardly sleep deprivation effects is the increase in cortisol (stress hormone) which reduces muscle mass. Losing muscle mass is your worst weight loss nightmare because metabolism slows down.

Depression

Fatigue and hormonal disruption can lead to feeling sad, losing interest in activities you used to enjoy and pulling away from other people.

Anxiety

Sleep deprivation can trigger fears and even panic attacks.

Coronary heart disease and hypertension

Excess cortisol and insulin have devastating effects on blood triglycerides.

Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

Increased cortisol (stress to body from not sleeping) goes hand in hand with increased insulin, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and its increased health risks.

Memory

The hippocampus enables us to store and organize memories – essential for retaining new information. Excess cortisol from stress and insufficient sleep interferes with this process. The hippocampus can actually shrink. Fatigue also interferes with our short-term memory by reducing the number of information chunks we can deal with.

Cognitive performance and alertness

Without enough sleep, we are not able to think properly and our brain reacts to any issue slowly. Our brains have to work harder to make up for a general lack of alertness. By reducing the brain’s ability to link events and actions with emotion, lack of sleep can bring on an array of psychiatric conditions including psychosis and memory loss. Mental fatigue leads to poor decision making and impaired problem-solving skills. Your relationships and performance at work can suffer as a result.

Accidents

Drowsiness can make you more accident-prone. Physical fatigue will make your response times slower – dangerous while you’re driving a vehicle or operating machinery.

Immune function and overall health

Sleep deprivation and associated elevated cortisol suppresses our immune system and can kill off thymus cells (protect against viruses and tumor cells). We catch cold bugs and flu more easily and open ourselves up to other health risks.

Premature Aging

One study found that sleeping less than 4 hours per night was associated with a 2.8 times higher rate of mortality for men and a 1.5 times higher rate for women. Making length of sleep time a better predictor of mortality than smoking, cardiac disease, or hypertension. We produce HGH (growth hormone that keeps us youthful) in deep sleep stages. If we don’t get quality sleep, we don’t make HGH.

So with that in mind, get some sleep. It’s good for you!

The woman above isn’t thinking about how many times she’s going to the gym this week. You wouldn’t be either if you were in the middle of a contraption-looking spa treatment that’s known to contour the body, reduce stress, help your body regain its natural strength, tighten and rejuvenate the skin, all while shedding inches of fat.

Enter: the latest slim-down spa session on our radar: the 7E Treatment, an FDA-cleared bio-electrical stimulation treatment for body contouring. According to the RejuvaLife Vitality Institute in Los Angeles, one of the few medspas offering the treatment: “Patients remain in a relaxed state while special waveforms contract and relax the muscles, providing immediate, long-lasting results. Patients benefit from immediate inch reduction and increased muscle strength.” They also report that patients feel completely relaxed during the treatment, putting them into a “zen-like” state of mind. When it comes to medical weight loss Los Angeles residents know that there is no easier method!

Although you will likely see a difference after one session, the recommended protocol is 1 to 5 treatments a week, no longer than 1 week apart, depending on your weight loss goals.

The 7E Treatment system, which formerly existed as a similar treatment called Torc Plus, attacks your problem areas with three levels of stimulation:

* Level 1: Classic Vector. With the use of sinusoidal currents, the deep muscles are contracted in a torsional manner, from the innermost to the outermost muscle groups, for increased lymphatic drainage and body contouring.

* Level 2: Power Sequence. Continuous muscle action is stimulated by three integrated waveforms, allowing for increased core strength and muscle endurance with no pain.

* Level 3: Dynamic Rotation. All muscles in the abdominal wall are contracted sequentially using a unique waveform which promotes deep contouring and maximum inch reduction.

A little reluctant to believe that an hour lying down on a couch being jolted with electronic waves will ever do the trick? Rejuvalife is holding a demo event at their spa on July 21st, and is also leading a clinical study about the abdomen, relating to this treatment. If you are in LA and interested in checking it out, email me (michelle(at)spaweekmedia(dot)com) for details.

It’s still quite new, and we’re still investigating the treatment to bring you more news and information first hand. In the meantime, if you’re up for being a guinea to get skinny, the 7E Treatment will be offered at RejuvaLife. Call us today at 310.276.4494 to schedule your 7E treatment and be a part of our special promo rate: 6 treatments for $700. 00 (reg. price is $150 per session). SAVE $200 on package. Restrictions apply.

A new Kaiser Permanente survey shows that 7% of boys and 5% of girls are packing on the pounds here in California as early as grade school!

According to the study leader, Corinna Koebnick, a nutritionist and research scientist for Kaiser in Pasadena, “A 10-year-old boy is supposed to weigh around 70 pounds, and an extremely obese 10-year-old weighs 114 pounds. That’s not merely a cosmetic issue. There’s growing evidence that being obese in childhood raises the risk of a host of serious health problems in adulthood, including heart disease and diabetes. These children will likely continue to be extremely obese adults.”

Of the 710,949 children studied over a two-year period, 37% were overweight, 19% were obese and 6% were considered extremely obese. As a physician with a weight management program in my Beverly Hills practice, I worry about the illnesses that these kids are going to experience as an after-affect of their weight. Although the Obama administration has targeted $10 billion over the next ten years to improve school lunches, that’s not going to make the important, immediate changes that can avoid health problems later on for these overweight and obese children.

What can you do to prevent obesity in your kids or nip it in the bud if it’s already happening?

1.    Know your child’s BMI. Body Mass Index is an excellent indicator of obesity. You can ask your pediatrician to measure your child’s BMI at an upcoming appointment or, better yet, visit this online child BMI calculator and you’ll know immediately.

2.    Stop buying sugary beverages—even OJ has loads of sugar but at least it’s not loaded with the chemicals in Pepsi, Coke and other drinks. Plain sparkling water is an enjoyable alternative if you can get your kids interested in it. Sparkling water with ice and a small amount of pure juice for flavor is an excellent alternative to sugary beverages. These fruit spritzers are both refreshing and low in calories and refined carbs.

3.    Increase your kids’ activities. Too much time spent in front of the computer or the TV will make your kids fat and flabby (and you too!). Make a point to get out daily with your kids, even to walk around the block or throw a Frisbee for 20 minutes. Jump around to some music or go biking together. Being an active family isn’t just about weight management either—it will pay benefits in family harmony, too!

Our patients struggle with weight issues that often began in childhood. They are helped to wellness by our nutritionist, physiologist/trainer and behavior therapist. Please call us if you have concerns about your weight and please, take a close look at your kids today. You’re their best hope for good health!