The Truth About Whole Milk

When I am at the grocery store I have a habit of looking at what is in other people's carts. It is no surprise why Americans are so overweight when you look at what people pick up at the store. Most carts will be full of sugary cereals, processed cookies and chips, soda and juice, and other fun stuff. You might also see a few so called "healthy foods" like Lean Cuisines, Snackwells, or low/non fat items, and diet sodas. These really aren't healthy and most times aren't even classified as food.

We get so obsessed with calories and fat that we lose the big picture. The secret to losing weight is to eat primarily whole foods. For example of the misconception we have, look at whole milk. Many people will not even glance at it in the dairy section, but you should take a closer look. Here is the nutritional label for whole milk:

So one serving is only 150 calories. Really not that bad when we think about all the Vitamin A and D as well as calcium and protein we are getting. What scares people here is the fat content. Now let's compare it to 1% milk:

Ok so now we could out 30 calories which is good and kept the protein the same. But we actual increased sugar even though fat went down. We also increased the amount of sodium which is usually a major problem in the Western Diet. So to save a few calories and fat we increased so other issues. We also want to consider the Vitamin A and D. These are both fat soluble vitamins. Meaning without fat you cannot proper absorb these nutrients. So, just because it is on the label doesn't mean you are getting it.

My point to this article isn't to have you go out and get whole milk from now on, but you can if you don't have a problem with diary. It is more to look at the American diet. With all the new "healthy foods" and options out there, why is obesity on the rise. We are always looking for the easy way to get to our goals. The easy way is to eat more whole, unprocessed foods. Also, we need fat in our diet. We need more unsaturated Omega 3's in our diets. Stay away from low/non fat foods or sugar free. By giving up one you are increasing the other or something else that will not help you lose weight.

Here is a check list you can use the next time you are at the grocery store. If you have any of these items in your cart get rid of them:

• White Bread
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Enriched Flour Pasta
• Cakes
• Cereal made with refined flour
• Premade package/prepackage foods
• Corn Chips/Doritos/Fritos
• Diet Soda
• Fat Free Rice Cakes
• Slim Fast Shakes
• Refined Vegetable Oil

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator

1 Simple Tip To Help With Low Back Pain

I have heard one statistic that over 80% of Americans will experience low back pain at some point in there life. I have no idea where this stat came from, but I would guess it is an understatement. I don't know if I have ever met someone that said they have never experienced and episode of low back pain (yes myself included).

There are a number of reasons why you might be experiencing low back pain, and it would take a professional to observe and diagnose it. I am willing to bet that most likely your back pain comes from a weak/dysfunctional core or it is from postural imbalances.

It is safe to say that if you have low back pain you probably are sitting too much. There might not be much you can do about this. Your job probably revolves around you sitting a lot, you probably have a commute where you are stuck sitting, and then you get home to sit and watch tv. It is inevitable, you are going to have to sit all day, so how can we do this and avoid back pain.

According to Shirley Sarhmann, a very well known physical therapist, there is one simple thing you can do that will dramatically help reduce pain associated from a seated position. The reason you have pain from sitting too much is because in this position you are most likely in a lumbar flexed position. This means your lower back is rounding. Our muscles and our vertebral discs have a memory. They stay in the position that you put them in for a long time. So when you stand up you will most likely stay in that flexed position. On top of this, the WORST position for your lumbar spine to be in is flexed and rotated. Think about when you are seated at your desk. You are probably already rounded and now you rotate to answer the phone, pick up a file, or any other reason. When you do this, you are dramatically increasing your risk for a bulging or compressed disc.

So how can we avoid this? Do not sit with a flexed lumbar. This is easier said then done if you have been sitting this way for awhile. Sarhmann recommends one simple thing to achieve this. When you are sitting keep your knees level or below your hips. When your knees are highly then your hips you will most likely sit with a rounded back. If you can raise your seat it will be much more comfortable sitting with a neutral spine. Just be careful. We want neutral spine. This means not flexed as we stated above and not hyper extended where you try and arch your back too far.



Give it a try while you are working. See how it improves your posture and your lower back pain.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator