Saturday, May 7, 2016
4 Signs Your Walking Workout Is Too Easy
But is your walking routine really giving you what you need?
"In order to get the optimal physical and mental benefits from your walking workout, it's important to maximize the time you spend walking," says Kuan. "That doesn't mean pushing yourself so exercise for get injured." However, Kuan says, there are simple ways to make sure your walking workout isn't too easy. Here are four signs you might need to take it up a notch and ways to increase your effort—safely.
Sign #1: You never break a sweat.
If you find that you don't need to change your shirt, wash your face, or even wipe a few beads of sweat from your brow after your walk, odds are you're not reaching 75 to 80% of your maximum heart rate—the range that puts you in the ideal aerobic zone, says Kuan. "Ideally, you want to be in this zone for at least 10 to 15 minutes during a 30-minute walk for the optimal health benefits," she says. This is a pace that, on a scale of 1 to 10, will feel like about a 6 or 7—it should have you huffing and puffing. This is the zone to reach if you're hoping to use your walking workouts—along with a healthy diet—to lose weight.
The solution: Hop on the treadmill.
It can be tough to gauge how much you can pick up your pace—and sustain it—to get into this cardio zone, says Kuan. So even if you love walking outdoors, get on a treadmill for at least one walking workout so you can see how fast you really need to walk (and what that feels like!) in order to break a sweat and hit that 75 to 80% of your max heart rate. "Many of my clients find that they can stick to a consistent 3.8 miles per hour or more on the treadmill, and it takes walking for a little while at 2.5 miles per hour to realize that that's their go-to pace when they walk outside," says Kuan.
It can be tough to gauge how much you can pick up your pace—and sustain it—to get into this cardio zone, says Kuan. So even if you love walking outdoors, get on a treadmill for at least one walking workout so you can see how fast you really need to walk (and what that feels like!) in order to break a sweat and hit that 75 to 80% of your max heart rate. "Many of my clients find that they can stick to a consistent 3.8 miles per hour or more on the treadmill, and it takes walking for a little while at 2.5 miles per hour to realize that that's their go-to pace when they walk outside," says Kuan.
Sign #2: You have long chats with your walking buddy.
Oh, the dreaded weight loss plateau. Rather than get frustrated and discouraged when the same workout and diet routines stop working, take it as a sign that it's time to switch up your routine. "Plateaus happen. In fact, they usually mean you're on the right path," says Kelly.
The solution: Split your walk in two.
Rather than sticking to your once-daily walking workouts, split your time in half and walk twice a day instead. "By getting your heart rate up at two different times in one day, you'll extend the calorie-burning benefits," says Kelly. Another perk, says Kuan, is that this can also help you keep your diet in check. "Oftentimes, my clients will walk for an hour in themorning and then give themselves carte blanche to eat anything they want because they've already worked out," she says. Spreading your walking workouts into two times a day can help you keep your mind on the prize and help control your eating, she says.
Rather than sticking to your once-daily walking workouts, split your time in half and walk twice a day instead. "By getting your heart rate up at two different times in one day, you'll extend the calorie-burning benefits," says Kelly. Another perk, says Kuan, is that this can also help you keep your diet in check. "Oftentimes, my clients will walk for an hour in themorning and then give themselves carte blanche to eat anything they want because they've already worked out," she says. Spreading your walking workouts into two times a day can help you keep your mind on the prize and help control your eating, she says.
Sign #4: You don't feel tired—or sore—after your walks.
If you don't feel even a little fatigued after your walking workout, it's a clue that it's time to push yourself harder, says Kuan. "Even flat walks should have you feeling tired when you're finished," she says. It's also important not to fool yourself into thinking your lack of fatigue means you're at the top of your workout game. "I get that it can feel really good when the workout routines you've created start to feel easy," says Kelly. "But it's crucial to remember that when this is the case, you're not going to get the best results." It's actually time to take your walks to the next level.
The solution: Change your terrain.
Walking uphill is a foolproof way to fire up the muscles in the back of your body, including your calves, hamstrings, and glutes, says Kuan. "As these muscles get stronger, you'll likely feel a little sore—possibly evenduring your walking workout," she says. This is also an effective, low-impact way to increase your cardiovascular efforts. "If you have an injury or are afraid to boost your speed, walking uphill can get your heart rate up—minus the need for speed," she says.
Walking uphill is a foolproof way to fire up the muscles in the back of your body, including your calves, hamstrings, and glutes, says Kuan. "As these muscles get stronger, you'll likely feel a little sore—possibly evenduring your walking workout," she says. This is also an effective, low-impact way to increase your cardiovascular efforts. "If you have an injury or are afraid to boost your speed, walking uphill can get your heart rate up—minus the need for speed," she says.
Can Wine Before Bed Really Help You Lose Weight?
Over the past year, our social media feeds have blown up on more than one occasion over claims that drinking wine at bedtime could help you drop a few pounds. In fact, this “news” generated so much buzz that urban-legend buster Snopes decided to investigate. Turns out, the majority of coverage was referencing a Daily Mail story that hinged on anecdotal accounts of women claiming that their “nighttime tipple” helped them slim down. But sadly, there was no new groundbreaking report showing that a glass of red before bed was the secret new weight loss weapon we’ve all been dreaming of. So what gives?
We’ve been told over and over that alcohol has no place in a weight loss program. Not only does it provide empty calories, studies confirm that “having a few” tends to zap your inhibition and make you order midnight cheese fries — a phenomenon known as the “drunchies.” Alas, it makes sense to file away the “bedtime wine” idea in the “too good to be true” health research morgue that also houses this seductive headline: “A glass of red wine is the equivalent to an hour at the gym.” Remember that one?
Yet research shows that moderate amounts of Malbec won’t totally derail your weight loss efforts. Here’s what you need to know about your vino habit.
The Case for Pre-Snooze Booze
We’ve all read that red wine is a healthy part of the Mediterranean Diet — the one that helps you live longer and maintain an enviable BMI. Even lifestyle guru Tim Ferris claims that two glasses of wine before bed each night helped him achieve his ripped physique. And recent research in mice showed that resveratrol, an antioxidant in red wine, can help turn regular white fat into energy-burning beige fat, which can contribute to weight loss and prevent obesity (just in case you didn’t know that fat came in different colors).
“Heavy drinking can disturb sleep, but a moderate amount has a sedative effect.”
While you can also get resveratrol in fruits, such as blueberries, lead author Min Du, PhD, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Washington State University, explains that the fermentation process of wine makes the antioxidant compounds easier to absorb, which can help accelerate the fat-burning process. Although Du didn’t specifically test the effect of giving resveratrol to the mice at night, he concedes that there might be a metabolic advantage of consuming wine in the wee hours.
When you drink wine with food — whether at lunch, dinner or with a late-night snack — the antioxidant compounds interact with protein in a way that prevents the body from metabolizing them for weight loss. When you consume resveratrol on its own, however, the body is able to absorb the compounds more readily, and thus maximize the burning of beige fat. That said, he stops short of endorsing an unaccompanied glass of bedtime wine as a diet strategy. “I don’t have the data to support it,” he says. “Wine is beneficial to your health, but never use it to control your body weight. It still has calories.” Ahem, 110 to 130 calories per glass, on average.
There’s another way wine might help with weight control. Just the right amount can help people fall asleep more easily, and according to recent studies, adequate slumber is key to keeping off the pounds. “Heavy drinking can disturb sleep, but a moderate amount has a sedative effect,” explains Greg Traversy, a researcher at the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group in Ottowa, Canada who wrote a review paper on research involving alcohol and obesity. “If it’s helping you sleep, then maybe you’re getting the weight management benefits downstream by having more energy to be active and not having the snack munchies the next day,” Traversy says.
Alcohol and Weight Loss: When Wine Backfires
“It’s like it has a special VIP pass to go ahead of other fuels.”
Unfortunately, much to the disappointment of weight-conscious wine lovers everywhere, Traversy didn’t find any studies showing that imbibing will help you shed pounds. Yet he was surprised to find evidence that moderate drinking wasn’t necessarily linked with weight gain. Take this famous Harvard study, for example. The research, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2010, found that women who drank in moderation (defined as one to two glasses daily) had a lower risk of becoming overweight over 13 years than women who didn’t drink at all. “It’s not clear why,” he says. “It might be because they’re exhibiting moderate behaviors in all areas of life, including weight maintenance.” The study authors pointed out that the moderate drinkers exercised more and ate less food to make room for their alcohol calories.
The bad news is that if you drink too much, alcohol interferes with your body’s ability to burn fat. “Alcohol blocks the burning of everything else,” says Marc Hellerstein, MD, PhD, professor of human nutrition at the University of California at Berkeley. “It’s like it has a special VIP pass to go ahead of other fuels.” In other words, if your body is overwhelmed with burning alcohol, your food will be more likely to get stored as fat.
Perhaps this was the secret of late-night wine. By drinking it a few hours after dinner, you give your body a chance to digest it when it won’t have to compete with food. “I’m not convinced,” says Hellerstein. “You’ll burn the alcohol, but not fat.” The bottom line: Pick your wine or weight loss.
10 Ways Exercise Improves Your Mood
Research has long supported the benefits of exercise, from weight control to reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer. Regular workouts strengthen your bones and muscles, increase your flexibility, and help you stay active and mobile as you age, helping you live longer.
Exercise's effect on mental health and mood is no exception—it's as effective in treating minor depression as therapy and prescription drugs. The mood-enhancing benefits apply for everyone. Here are 10 ways:
1. Exercise can help you think more clearly and make better decisions
Exercise activates a part of your brain called the ventral prefrontal cortex, which is important for decision making and emotional processing.
Exercise activates a part of your brain called the ventral prefrontal cortex, which is important for decision making and emotional processing.
2. Exercise can help reduce negative moods
In addition to helping us make decisions, the ventral prefrontal cortex processes negative emotions like fear and helps us decide whether certain situations are risky or not. Frequent exercise helps you better process negative emotions so you can stay focused on the positive.
In addition to helping us make decisions, the ventral prefrontal cortex processes negative emotions like fear and helps us decide whether certain situations are risky or not. Frequent exercise helps you better process negative emotions so you can stay focused on the positive.
3. Exercise helps you resist stress
People who exercise can more effectively deal with stressors in their environment. Frequent exercise actually alters a part of your brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. This part of the brain is responsible for mood regulation (via one of the neurotransmitters it produces, called serotonin) and for alerting you to the presence of stress in your environment (via another neurotransmitter called Substance P).
People who exercise can more effectively deal with stressors in their environment. Frequent exercise actually alters a part of your brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. This part of the brain is responsible for mood regulation (via one of the neurotransmitters it produces, called serotonin) and for alerting you to the presence of stress in your environment (via another neurotransmitter called Substance P).
4. Exercise reduces tension and anxiety
Exercise increases your serotonin level (that's the "feel good" neurotransmitter), which helps decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones.
Exercise increases your serotonin level (that's the "feel good" neurotransmitter), which helps decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones.
5. Exercise improves memory
Exercise increases the activity level in part of your brain called the hippocampus, which plays a key role in helping you form new memories and retrieve old ones.
Exercise increases the activity level in part of your brain called the hippocampus, which plays a key role in helping you form new memories and retrieve old ones.
6. Exercise improves cognitive performance
Research suggests that even short bouts of intensive exercise during your workday can increase performance and productivity.
Research suggests that even short bouts of intensive exercise during your workday can increase performance and productivity.
7. Exercise helps reduce pain
Everyone knows about the "runner's high," a feeling of pain reduction that accompanies lengthy bouts of exercise. Research suggests that you don't have to run marathons to see the pain-reducing benefits of exercise—even low-impact activities like water aerobics can help reduce pain.
Everyone knows about the "runner's high," a feeling of pain reduction that accompanies lengthy bouts of exercise. Research suggests that you don't have to run marathons to see the pain-reducing benefits of exercise—even low-impact activities like water aerobics can help reduce pain.
8. Exercise increases body satisfaction
People who exercise usually report increased body satisfaction immediately following exercise. Those who work out generally report lower levels of body dissatisfaction compared with infrequent exercisers.
People who exercise usually report increased body satisfaction immediately following exercise. Those who work out generally report lower levels of body dissatisfaction compared with infrequent exercisers.
9. People who exercise report having better romantic relationships
Researchers aren't sure of the reason. It could be that exercise makes you feel better about yourself. Maybe it improves your sex life. Or perhaps the good mood it puts you in helps smooth over any issues you might have with your romantic partner.
Researchers aren't sure of the reason. It could be that exercise makes you feel better about yourself. Maybe it improves your sex life. Or perhaps the good mood it puts you in helps smooth over any issues you might have with your romantic partner.
10. Exercise predicts happiness
Studies continue to show that people who exercise are happier—no surprise considering all the elements above coming together!
Studies continue to show that people who exercise are happier—no surprise considering all the elements above coming together!
If you're vulnerable to depression or seasonal affective disorder, exercise should be one of your mainstays. And even if you don't struggle with those issues, hitting the gym can still give you positive effects that are well worth it.