In a study, published in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society, researchers found that 60 minutes of exercise can suppress one’s appetite.
In this study, authors, David R. Broom, James A. King and David J. Stensel of Loughborough University, and Rachel L. Batterham of University College, London, observed levels hormones ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, and peptide YY, which suppresses hunger. With cardiovascular exercise performed on the treadmill, peptide YY levels while ghrelin decreased, resulting in a greater appetite suppression. 90 minutes of strength training resulted in reduced appetites, although not as strong, since ghrelin levels were decreased, but peptide YY levels remained unchanged.
With vigorous exercise, especially endurance activities, it is important to replenish your body with nutritious food within 30 minutes post-exercise. However, regular exercise is a fantastic strategy to help you avoid over-eating.
In this morning’s NBC news in Dallas, it discussed walking conference rooms in NYC. I encourage everybody to go for walking meetings. After all, physical activity spurs creativity. However this morning’s news is quite the boardroom breakthrough.
This company’s conference room is equipped with projectors, telephones, and computers, similar to our “mainstream” conference rooms. However, instead of tables and chairs, it has treadmills. Instead of going to meetings in suits and dress shoes, you get to wear walking pants, t-shirts, and sneakers. In an hour-long meeting, an attendee can burn anywhere from 150-400 calories. Incidently, Dr. James Levine published a study with Mayo Clinic that concluded that “thin” people burn 350 calories more per day than those people who are obese.
Photo courtesy of http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/health/nutrition/18fitness.html?no_interstitial
If you find it difficult to go for that three mile walk per day, or 10,000 steps per day. A treadmill workstation is a great multi-tasking alternative. See the above photo of walkstations at Mutual of Omaha.
For those of you who are interested in creating your own walking workstation, I found an online DIY treadmill desk. While actively working, I recommend walking on the treadmill workstation at a pace of about 2 mph. Also, keep the ramp between 1-2%.
Just say no to needing elastic pants this Thanksgiving and the weeks that follow… Here are three simple, easy to follow tips to stay guilt-free after your holiday eating parties.
Use smaller plates.
You will have to serve yourself smaller portions. Serve yourself 1/3-1/2 you would normally put on your plate. Follow the following the tips. If you end up going for a second serving you will know what you want, but still serve a smaller portion. You will save yourself at least half the calories of Thanksgivings of the past.
Savor every morsel of food you put in your mouth.
In order to prevent guilt-ridden overeating and letting out the waistband on your trousers, serve yourself smaller portions, enjoy your food, and take smaller bites.
Practice conscious consumption.
Rather than eating while deep in conversation. Look at what you stick your fork into before putting it in your mouth. Enjoy the flavors, while letting the food stay in your mouth longer as you slowly chew. You will be less likely to overeat the food that is not as satisfying to you, become satiated faster, eat more slowly (which means you will have less time to go up for seconds), and enjoy the taste of your meal at the first plate.
Start practicing now, as your party season begins.
The verdict is in. Even short, muscular legs look good in these shorts. Until now, I have never worn running shorts to workout because of their bubble-butt causing cut. For you long-legged women, they will look great on your legs, too! (Although, I’m sure you look great in most shorts anyway.)
These shorts feature 4-way stretch, so they’ll always be comfy and return to its natural shape, mesh Coolmax liner to keep you held in and dry, drawstring waist to keep them sitting where you want, a card & key keeper pocket to keep your hands free, and the Lululemon quality.
For those of you who know me, I love all things Lululemon. However, the biggest shocker for me was to find that I did not feel bashful in these shorts. Typically, I will avoid running shorts for the reason in my intro. I am very pleasantly surprised that I felt covered, cool, and chafe-free when I went on a 12.5 mile run and in my cardio playground class (which includes jumping, skipping, hopping, squatting, and crawling).
The Lululemon Athletica price tag tends to run a bit spendier than most people think to invest in workout clothing. However, I have been converted and find them worth every penny in timeless style, quality, durability (they can be machine washed and dried on any setting). The apparel will become your favorite piece of exercise clothing for years to come.
Bonus-check out your local store’s schedule of free fitness classes.
This fourth, and last, installment to the series, “Economic Effects on Our Health & Well-Being,” was intended to be dedicated to nutritional guidance. Although I have a certification in weight management coaching, nutritional counseling is not my area of expertise. Therefore, I can give you a few words of wisdom, which have been reinforced by other nutritional experts: Eileen Weilbacher, Jen Ford, and Nina Segil:
Consume foods rich in B-vitamins. The various B-vitamins assist in production of red blood cells, nervous system function (can improve brain function and reduce anxiety), and metabolism. Some examples of foods rich in vitamin B are green leafy vegetables, fish, poultry, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and legumes.
Include omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. Not only are omega-3s heart healthy, they help reduce the symptoms of depression and hypertension. This heart healthy oil can be found in coldwater fish (like salmon), flaxseeds, kidney beans, grape leaves, spinach, and walnuts.
Don’t be afraid of mono-unsaturated fats. Consuming fat gives us a natural comforting effect. It makes us feel fuller faster, also, preventing the feeling of being hungry-all-the-time and the need to nosh continuously. Recommended sources of mono-unsaturated fats are walnuts (tablespoon of crushed), almonds (tablespoon of slivered), slices of avocado. You can throw them on salads, in yogurt, create shakes, or mix with fruit for a well-balanced, satisfying meal.Therefore, consuming these “good” fats in moderation is recommended.
The following tips were published in my last newsletter. They include health and wellness recommendations for you to follow when under stress.
1) Elect to exercise – It boosts your body’s mental- and physical-coping mechanisms.
2) Resist overindulgence in “comfort foods“ – Mentally, it can induce feelings of guilt. Physically, perpetual overindulgence in food leads to weight gain, which spurs various health risks.
3) Consume caffeine in moderation – Stimulants promote anxiety. Some research has also shown that our body’s inflammatory response to caffeine can perpetuate or worsen any inflammation in our organs.
4) Include nutrient-rich foods in your diet – Nutrient-rich foods (particularly organic) sustain you longer, making you less vulnerable to cravings for “comfort foods.” Once absorbed, they help your body cope better, mentally and physically, by restoring hormonal balance, providing energy, and reducing inflammation.
5) Recognize your accomplishments - Be grateful of everything you were able to do throughout your day, including making friends smile or having dinner with your family. Being aware of all that you are able to offer the people around you at home, work, and play helps prevent a dismal state of mind.
6) Focus on your desires - “The Secret” helped us understand it, as life coaches around the world advise it – visualize what you want and not what you fear. Visualization leads to fruition.
7) Laugh often – My favorite recommendation from Dr. Norman, “Research shows that laughter produces both physical and psychological dividends. It reduces stress and anxiety and increases tolerance to pain. Since, when we laugh, we stretch muscles, breathe faster, and send more oxygen to our tissues, some have compared the benefits of laughter to mild exercise.”
Think in 8s – For the superstitious, this is the number representing prosperity.
All of our tips are applicable to your life, even when you are not under stress. However, these good habits are easily forgotten when we are distracted by stressors. Please use these posts as reminders, and good living habits.
Previous posts and experts all recommend that you exercise. Now, you may be asking, “What do I do?” “How long should I go for?”
Duration
With the exception of athletes in training, most people should partake in 30-45 minutes of low-moderate intensity exercise, five days per week. The bouts can be broken up into sessions that will add up to 30-45 minutes by the end of the day. However, some research has shown that 40 minute bouts will result in the greatest energy increase (I apologize that I cannot find this study anymore, which was published in 2007). Another study shows that participating in lower intensity exercise will result in greater energy-boosting benefits instead of more stenuous activity. Let’s interpret that, now. If you are feeling the mental drain over the daily news of economic doom and gloom, exercise for about 40-45 minutes, at a steady and less intense level (e.g. walk or easy swim, instead of bootcamp class). However, If you feel frustrated and, sometimes even, angry, I recommend one to two sessions per week of moderate to high intensity interval workouts to work the aggression out of your system (e.g. kickboxing class or running on hilly trails). If you are new to exercise (i.e. you haven’t participated in a regular exercise routine since high school–and maybe that might not have counted for much), start with easy strolling for 5-20 minutes, depending on your level, add-on and build-up from there.
Tip: Schedule your workouts in, as you would with your appointments. If it’s scheduled, then you won’t find that you are having to “sacrifice” in order to take care of your health. Schedule a date with your body!
Mode
What type of exercise to do is a simple recommendation. Do whatever it is you know you can enjoy doing and will stick to doing. Why would you say you want to commit to running if you don’t enjoy it?
If you’re concerned about a greater economic burden and expense of exercise classes, but feel the need to take classes in order to exercise regularly, check out your local Parks & Recreation schedule. Many departments have fun classes like aqua aerobics, dance, volleyball, basketball, and so much more. Parks & rec classes are, on average, about 30% the cost of classes at boutique fitness centers (about $3-$5/class vs. $12-$25/class). Also, check http://www.meetup.com/ for health and fitness enthusiasts in your area that share similar interests, where you can find exercise classes and workout partners for zero dollars.
Please feel free to post any questions, if you need any other guidance with regard to your fitness regimen.
Yes, you see that correctly, Part 2.5. Sorry, I haven’t had the chance to blog the follow-up with my exercise prescription to manage your stress levels (Part 3). However, an article from Market Watch was just published. It discusses how stress can cause tension and pain in the neck, shoulders, and back, and why. Dr. Norman Marcus also says, “Even though you might feel you deserve to overindulge, don’t use the pressure of the financial crisis to suspend healthy habits: Excessive drinking, overeating, smoking or self-medicating can only make the situation worse,” which reinforces what was stated in Part 1. Happy reading!!! Click here for the article.
As stated in the earlier post, many people are concerned about their finances. They are trying to figure out where they can minimize their expenses. However, neglecting their health is never a good solution.
There are many different reasons why one should keep or not keep their gym memberships active. First, I’ll list the reasons to keep your gym membership:
1 – You will not get your daily exercise without being able to do it in the gym.
2 – Going to the gym before or after work helps you avoid rush hour traffic. Therefore, you are able to maintain a regular fitness routine and avoid blood pressure escalating traffic.
3 – The gym is like a networking and deal-making platform, like the game of golf. If you have and are able to close deals and drum up more business at the gym, keep it because you are making money while you are exercising.
Reasons to resign from your gym:
1 – You have a “great deal” on a lifetime membership, and you want to keep this great deal “just in case” you’ll need it or want to use it…one day. (And, you haven’t used it in at least one year.)
2 – You visit the gym less than three times per month. Most gyms have day pass options that cost between $10-$20 per visit. Depending on the cost of your monthly membership, it might be more cost effective to buy day passes. You may even be able to prepay for a few visits at a time (Be sure these passes do not have an expiration date).
3 – You carry multiple active memberships. Maintain an active membership at the location that you frequent more than three times per month. Re-evaluate the frequency of your visits to the other locations. See #2; the other gyms may have day pass options that will be more appropriate for you.
Also, realize that you don’t need to have a gym membership to stay active and maintain good health. A whole playground is at your feet. It is really quite easy to stay physically active (See part 3, next week).
Think in 8s – For the superstitious, this is the number representing prosperity.
