Happy American Heart Month! What better way to show your love for your body, your heart and your health than kicking off another Bates Family Health Challenge?? We'll begin our next challenge this Sunday, February 21st! This challenge is all about YOU and feeling your best. Our weekly goals have been updated a little bit. Here's a review: The challenge is based on 5 weekly goals:
1. Get Veggies!- Eat at least 2 lunch or dinner meals per week that donotcontain meat. Meat = ANY animal products (pork, beef, chicken or fish).
2. Get Fit!- Get your heart rate up at least 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes each session. 3. Get Moving! - Limit television watching to less than 2 hours per day. Fitness shows, dvds, or gaming systems that are being used for working out do not count towards television hours. 4. Get Heart Smart! - Aim for a low sodium and low sugar diet.Eat 1,500mg or less of sodium per day. Limit the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance. According to the American Heart Association, that’s no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons of sugar) for most American women. For men, it’s 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons). 5. Get Hydrated!- Drink between 11 (gals) and 16 (guys) cups of fluids (WATER, low-fat milk, decaffeinated coffee/tea) per day. Each week, challenge members should fill out the survey indicating how well they met the weekly goals. Results will be posted on the blog to help us determine where we can get stronger and give more support as a family. Tips, articles, exercises and recipes will be posted each week to keep us all on track. Anyone wishing to submit a posting for the blog, please send it to me!
From the NY Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/a-2-minute-walk-may-counter-the-harms-of-sitting/?ref=health
A 2-Minute Walk May Counter the Harms of Sitting
Photo
Credit Getty Images
With evidence mounting that sitting for long stretches of time is unhealthy, many of us naturally wonder how best to respond. Should we stand up, or is merely standing insufficient? Must we also stroll or jog or do jumping jacks?
Stolen Moments Add Up
Experts recommend working out 45 minutes to an hour a day (30 minutes for beginners) for weight loss and fitness. But if you're like most women, you don't always have a block of 30 to 60 minutes a day to devote exclusively to doing your workouts.
Lest you think that short bursts of activity have a negligible effect on your fitness program, think again. One study found that women who split their exercise into 10-minute increments were more likely to exercise consistently, and lost more weight after five months, than women who exercised for 20 to 40 minutes at a time.
In a landmark study conducted at the University of Virginia, exercise physiologist Glenn Gaesser, PhD, asked men and women to complete 15 10-minute exercise routines a week. After just 21 days, the volunteers' aerobic fitness was equal to that of people 10 to 15 years younger. Their strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility were equal to those of people up to 20 years their junior. "It would be useful for people to get out of the all-or-nothing mind-set that unless they exercise for 30 minutes, they're wasting their time," says Gaesser.
Breaking exercise into small chunks on your overscheduled days can also keep your confidence up, since skipping it altogether can make you feel tired, guilty, or depressed. Keep in mind, though, that short bursts of exercise are meant to supplement, not replace, your regular fitness routine.
Here are simple, practical ways to work exercise into your day even when you're short on time:
Around the House
1. When you go outside to pick up your morning newspaper, take a brisk 5-minute power walk up the street in one direction and back in the other.
2. If you're housebound caring for a sick child or grandchild, hop on an exercise bike or do a treadmill workout while your ailing loved one naps.
3. Try 5 to 10 minutes of jumping jacks. (A 150-pound woman can burn 90 calories in one 10-minute session.)
4. Cooking dinner? Do standing push-ups while you wait for a pot to boil. Stand about an arm's length from the kitchen counter, and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to get toned arms and shoulders.
5. After dinner, go outside and play tag or shoot baskets with your kids and their friends.
6. Just before bed or while you're giving yourself a facial at night, do a few repetitions of some dumbbell exercises, suggests exercise instructor Sheila Cluff, owner and founder of The Oaks at Ojai and The Palms, in Palm Springs, CA, who keeps a set of free weights on a shelf in front of her bathroom sink.
While Waiting
7. Walk around the block several times while you wait for your child to take a music lesson. As your fitness level improves, add 1-minute bursts of jogging to your walks.
8. Walk around medical buildings if you have a long wait for a doctor's appointment. "I always ask the receptionist to give me an idea of how long I have left to wait," Cluff says. "Most are usually very willing to tell you."
9. While your son or daughter plays a soccer game, walk around the field.
10. Turn a trip to a park with your child into a mini-workout for you. Throw a ball back and forth and run for fly balls.
At Work
11. Walk to work if you can. "I walked to work for months, 1 1/2 miles each way," says Mary Dallman, PhD, professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and she really saw results.
12. If you dine out on your lunch hour, walk to a restaurant on a route that takes you a little bit out of your way.
13. If you have a meeting in another building, leave 5 or 10 minutes early (or take some time afterward), and do some extra walking.
14. On breaks, spend 5 to 10 minutes climbing stairs.
15. If you're pressed for time and must wait for an elevator, strengthen your core with ab exercises. Stand with your feet parallel and your knees relaxed. Contract the muscles around your belly button. Then elevate your upper torso, and release. Finally, contract your buttocks for a few seconds.
16. Use a ringing phone as an excuse to stretch your back. Stand with your feet astride. Imagine that you are encased in a plaster cast from your waist to your head. Gently tilt the lower part of your pelvis backward. Contract your abdominal muscles. Then gently tilt your pelvis forward.
When You're Watching TV
17. Put away your remote and change channels the old-fashioned way—by getting up and walking to the television set.
18. Dance as if you were 16 again. Put on a music program or MTV. Then dance like crazy, advises Peg Jordan, PhD, RN, author of The Fitness Instinct. "Free yourself to think of movement as something that you have a right to do," she says.
19. During commercials, jog in place. A 150-pound woman can burn up to 45 calories in 5 minutes. Or try our Couch-Potato Workout.
20. Do leg exercises and lifts with small weights while you watch The Weather Channel, cooking shows, movies, or the news.
While Traveling
21. Pack your sneakers and a fitness DVD. Call ahead to make sure your room has a DVD player. If it doesn't, ask to rent one from the hotel.
22. If you're traveling by car, stop twice a day for short, brisk walks and some stretching.
23. During layovers at airports, avoid the mechanized "moving carpets" that transport travelers from concourse to concourse. "If you're in between flights, walk around the concourse as much as you can," suggests Cluff.
24. Book a hotel room between the fifth and eighth floors, then ignore the elevator. Better yet, take two stairs at a time. (Check with the hotel first because for security reasons some hotels do not allow guests to use stairs except for emergencies.)
From: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/air-health Right around the time when the days start getting longer and temps begin to rise, it's normal to want to ditch your spin class and liberate the road bike that's been sitting idle in your garage. What's not to love about filling your lungs with fresh spring air? Actually, there is something. If your favorite bike path winds along a busy thoroughfare, or the tennis court you frequent is located near a traffic-clogged intersection, you may be loading your lungs with harmful pollutants in the form of ozone (the main component of smog) and microscopic bits of soot, dust, aerosol, metal, free radicals, and other airborne contaminants. Not only does this toxic assault on your lungs compromise the effectiveness of your workouts, but it can also take a toll on your health. Running on FumesFirst, some good news. The air we breathe has become a lot cleaner in the past 30 years. Since 1980, emissions of the six worst pollutants have dropped by nearly 50 percent, thanks to stricter laws regulating air quality. But here's the thing: People who exercise outdoors may still breathe in up to 10 times more airborne nastiness than those who spend less time being active outside. Whether your workout of choice is running, cycling, or taking boot-camp classes on the beach, doing any kind of vigorous outdoor exercise that causes you to breathe hard means you are gulping more air than if you were standing still, says Sam Callan, USA Cycling's sport science and coaching education manager. Even moderate workouts, such as a brisk walk, can increase the amount of air you inhale. And along with all that extra muscle-fueling oxygen comes supersize portions of unhealthy pollution. What's worse, as you huff and puff through your mouth, some of that contamination whooshes deep into your lungs, bypassing your nasal passages, the body's natural air filter. The result? An irritated and inflamed trachea and lungs. You may wind up with symptoms such as a pesky cough, chest tightness, or a scratchy throat. Your Body on Bad Air Pollution affects more than just your airways, says former air pollution scientist Kenneth Rundell, Ph.D. When you inhale airborne contaminants, your body launches a defense against "foreign invaders," which then causes inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation can wreak havoc on every organ system. So it's not surprising that long-term exposure to bad air has been linked to a host of health problems—ironically the very conditions that regular exercise helps prevent—including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, decreased immune function, and certain cancers. If all this makes you want to strap on a gas mask every time you head outside, take comfort in this: Your lungs have several built-in cellular cleaning mechanisms that help neutralize irritants and rid the body of them, so you'll most likely recover pretty quickly from an occasional dose of dirty air. Breathe easier with these strategies: Get moving in the morning. Ozone is generally lowest at this time, from roughly 6 a.m until 10 a.m., and it rises throughout the day as sunlight breaks down the hydrocarbons of auto exhaust, turning it into smog. Replot your route. Find ways around the busiest thoroughfares. A street with traffic that zooms past will be less polluted than a congested road that has cars idling at stoplights, their emissions hanging in the air. If you can't avoid high-traffic roadways, plan your workout so your hardest effort comes at the least congested part of your route. If you live in a city, hit the park. Avoid the worst offenders. Stay away from high-pollution scenarios altogether, such as parking lots and marinas with idling diesel vehicles (trucks, buses, boats) and areas where a forest fire is burning nearby. Yard equipment such as lawn mowers and snow or leaf blowers also spew fumes you don't want to inhale, so try not to be downwind of them, says Thurston. Embrace the breeze. "The worst pollution days are usually the hot, stale days of summer," says Greenbaum. Windy conditions often make for better air days because the breeze disperses pollution, reducing its concentration. Eat your antioxidants. Getting the recommended daily dose (75 milligrams) of vitamin C, particularly through foods (e.g., broccoli, spinach, oranges, and tomatoes), may help your lungs resist pollution-related damage, says Thurston. Vitamin C reduces free radicals, lowers the production of inflammatory histamines, and helps boost glutathione, a detoxifying agent that aids cells in dealing with carcinogens and heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Blow hard. At your annual physical, ask your doctor to assess your lung function using spirometry, a test in which you'll blow into a measuring device. What to watch for: "A trend over time indicating any adverse changes from your previous visit," says Thurston. Remember, exercise is still the best way to keep your lungs flexible and in top shape. How Safe Is Your Air? Three ways to check your air quality before heading outside Go to airnow.gov and type in your location or zip code for a local color-coded air-quality index based on EPA calculations. At green or yellow, you're good to go; if it's orange, stick to low-key activities (a moderate walk or yoga in the park) and don't stay out for hours; at red or above, work out indoors.
Download the free Oreck Air Quality Forecast smartphone app for on-the-go air-quality checks based on EPA data.
Plug in your zip code at the American Lung Association's website,stateoftheair.org, to see how your community fares annually compared with the rest of the country.
The Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle: Stand Up for Your Health
Spending hours on end in a chair isn't just murder on your back—it can
literally kill you. And if you're like the average person, you clock
almost 55 hours a week on your duff. Shockingly, working out isn't an
antidote. Here, what is.
By Tracy Erb Middleton, Photograph By Francisco Garcia
Three years ago, Women's Health was among the first to expose sitting disease.
The gist: Too much inactivity can leave you prone to such deadly
ailments as heart disease and obesity. The advice: Get moving. But
Americans haven't budged much. The only real momentum has been in the
lab, where research has found that inactivity can also damage your mind,
sleep cycle, and organs. It could even shorten your life: Women who sit
for more than six hours a day have a roughly 40 percent higher risk of
dying from any cause, regardless of their fitness level, versus those
who sit for fewer than three hours.
"The human body evolved to move around," says James Levine, M.D.,
Ph.D., a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. "Yes, there are times
to sit, but we put our feet up now more than ever. It's unnatural and
hazardous to our health." Young women are especially prone: Research
shows they spend more time on their bums than others. Devastating news,
considering immobility can start wreaking havoc quickly. Behold, the
science behind sitting disease and how to sidestep its risks.
Your Sleep
When you're plopped in a chair for hours, gravity and a lack of
circulation can cause fluid buildup in your lower legs. An unsexy pair
of cankles isn't the worst of it: When you later lie down to sleep, that
fluid migrates to the muscles and tissues of your neck and may force
your throat to swell, says Douglas Bradley, M.D., director of The Centre
for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology at the University of Toronto.
You may have a harder time sucking in air and might even stop breathing
for short periods during the night, a serious condition called sleep
apnea that can leave sufferers feeling zombie-like.
Your Butt
It's not just mindlessly sucking down calories that adds junk to your
trunk. A recent cell culture study found that when you sit for long
periods of time, the weight your body puts on your fat cells actually
encourages them to create twice as much fat—at a faster rate—as when
you're standing. And you're gaining the worst kind of chub. "When we sit
or lie on fat cells, they produce more triglycerides, the type of fat
that can raise stroke risk," says study author Amit Gefen, Ph.D., a
biomedical engineer at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Your Blood Sugar
Every time you tuck into a meal, your blood sugar spikes and "you get
this huge four-hour crush of calorie-storing activity in the body,"
explains Levine. Recent research shows too much lolling around could
turn this typically normal process into a dangerous one. When otherwise
healthy people halved the number of steps they took per day, their blood
sugar spikes increased after each meal, no matter what type of fare
they ate. "We know these increased post-meal spikes are linked to a
higher risk for type 2 diabetes," says John P. Thyfault, Ph.D., an
associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of
Missouri.
Your Brain
Ummm, what? The more you sit around, the more likely you are to fall
prey to so-called senior moments. Your noggin's hippocampus, or memory
center, deteriorates as you age, but the side effects of being sedentary
(obesity, diabetes) can push that process along. On the flip side,
physical acitivity can beef up the size of your hippocampus, says study
author Kirk Erickson, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh.
Your Lungs
Something as simple as breathing can get gunked up by too much chair
time. Sedentary women have more than double the risk of developing a
pulmonary embolism, a.k.a. a blood clot in the lungs. "Prolonged sitting
makes your blood flow sluggish and more likely to form clots, which can
become lodged in your lungs," explains Christopher Kabrhel, M.D.,
M.P.H., an emergency medicine physician at Massachusetts General
Hospital. The more you sit, the higher your risk, and women who take
oral contraceptives (which increase blot-clot risk) should be extra
mindful.
The Anti-Sit Solution
All of the above effects are easily avoidable (yes, even if you're a
desk jockey), and you don't have to get extreme at the gym.
Extra-vigorous, push-till-you-drop workouts likely won't be enough to
combat sitting disease—they may even make things worse. First, sweat
sessions might make you think you're immune to the side effects of being
sedentary. In reality, working out and limiting time spent sitting are
key for overall health, says Alpa Patel, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the
American Cancer Society.
Second, "if you've been sitting all day, your lower back, hamstrings,
and hip flexor muscles are all in tightened positions," explains
Michael Frederickson, M.D., a professor of sports medicine at Stanford
University. "When you jump too quickly into hard-core exercise, your
muscles are more susceptible to injury." (Your back is particularly at
risk.)
Of course, you shouldn't quit your heart-healthy workouts altogether.
The key to fighting sitting disease lies in augmenting your routine
with something called NEAT, or nonexercise activity thermogenesis.
Translation: low-impact movements that keep your metabolism humming and
your circulation flowing. Cooking qualifies, as does sex, or gardening,
or even cruising the office for a gossip break. The key is to move
around as often as you can. "People have become so indoctrinated to
calories and reps, but the real focus needs to be on reducing overall
sedentary time," says Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical
Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Aim to do something NEAT for 10 minutes every waking hour. "Try
standing every time you take a phone call or taking a 20-minute walk
after dinner," says Levine. In fact, if there's one time you should get
NEAT, it's when your belly's full. Even just 10 minutes of post-meal
dishwashing can help obliterate many of sitting disease's ugly
effects—and potentially add back years to your life.
How to Stick with Your Fitness Routine over the Holidays
by Sara Baxter
You
have a regular fitness routine. You’ve stuck with it all fall. Now here
come the holidays, that festive and frenetic stretch of weeks that can
wreck even your best-planned exercise regimen.
Fear not: You can revel in the holidays while staying on task with your fitness routine. A few tips:
1 Make an “appointment.” Schedule
your exercise as you would a meeting or party – and keep the
appointment. It’s even easier if you are part of a regular class, such
as the Arthritis Foundation’s warm-water Aquatic Program or land-based Exercise Program. (Contact your local chapter or visit www. arthritis.org for more information.)
2 Have a plan B.
If something thwarts your best intentions, like entertaining family in
town for the holidays, have a backup plan. For example, tell yourself,
“Tomorrow, I will walk at 4 p.m., but if my cousin drops by to visit,
I’ll go to the gym at 6:30.” If you typically exercise in the evening,
you may want to switch your routine to mornings, just during the
holidays, so evening parties won’t interfere.
3 Sneak it in.
“Your exercise routine may get derailed by shopping trips and errands,”
says Sally Brozek, a registered dietitian who specializes in weight
management at Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital. “Try to fit in extra steps by
parking far from the front door of the store, taking extra laps around
the mall, and trying to use the stairs instead of the elevator, if you
are able.”
4 Break up your workout.
Experts tell us we should get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days
of the week to reap benefits. If necessary, segment your workout into
three 10-minute sessions that you can squeeze in each morning, noon and
evening.
5 Use “downtime.” If you have to drop off children at a holiday pageant rehearsal, exercise while they’re occupied. Walk around the neighborhood or sneak off to the gym.
6 Work out at home. When time is tight, don’t waste it driving to the gym. Stay put and dust off the stationary bike or treadmill, or pull workout videos/DVDs off the shelf.
7 Involve visitors.
When family or friends are in town, invite them to join in your
exercise plans: Take them for a walking tour of your neighborhood, or
have them join you at the gym. “You get to spend time talking with them
while getting your exercise,” says Brozek.
8 Set realistic goals.
Instead of working out five times per week, you may have to settle for
three. But that’s OK: A study conducted by the American College of
Sports Medicine found those who set realistic goals were more apt to
stick with exercising than those who set loftier goals.
Read more about fitness from walking advice to exercise how-to's, motivation tips to the latest fitness news.
How many New Year's Eves have you spent sipping champagne and vowing to get
more fit in the coming year? And how many times have you failed to follow
through? "December 31 over a drink is too late to set goals and make
promises," says Justin Price, owner of The Biomechanics, a personal
training and wellness coaching facility in San Diego, Calif. Fall, on the other hand, is a great time to start a fitness program because
"'you're going to create good habits for the holiday season and the
upcoming winter months," says Price. Chris Freytag, a fitness instructor and fitness expert with
Prevention magazine, agrees. "With the change of seasons comes a renewed time to rethink and
restart," she says. "'What's so special about January?" Besides, says Freytag, a mother of three, moms with school-aged kids
"think of September as the new year." Here are 10 ways to start making the most of the season. And who knows? This
year, you might be in great shape before that New Year's Eve party rolls
around. 1. Take advantage of the weather. Fall can be a treat for
the senses: the crisp air, apple picking, pumpkin carving, a gorgeous canopy of
fall foliage, and the crunch of leaves underfoot. These months are a great time
to exercise outdoors and enjoy cooler temperatures. 2. Think outside the box.Always wanted to learn to tap
dance? Attempt to box? Master the jump rope? Ask any schoolchild: Fall is a
great time to learn something new. 3. Be an active TV watcher. Many people get geared up for
fall premieres of their favorite television shows, says Freytag. "If you're
going to sit down and watch hours of TV, get moving," she suggests.
"Make a date with exercise and TV." While you watch, you can walk or run in place, do standing lunges, do tricep
dips off the couch, or lift weights. During commercials, do push-ups or
sit-ups. In a one-hour show, you probably have close to 20 minutes worth of
commercial interruption. 4. Integrate exercise into your life. You already know the
obvious suggestions: park farther away from your destination; take stairs
instead of elevators; take a walk during your lunch break. 5. Rejuvenate yourself. 6. Remember the 30-day rule."'It takes about four
weeks for the body to adapt to lifestyle changes," says Price. That's why
people who give up on their fitness programs tend to do so within the first 30
days. 7. Strive for the 3 Cs. Freytag calls commitment,
convenience, and consistency "the three Cs", and says having all three
will lead to a successful fitness program. 8. Deal with darkness. The best way to enjoy fall is to
exercise outdoors. But it is getting darker earlier, and staying dark later in
the morning, so be smart and safe. 9. Dress in layers. When exercising outside, layer your
clothing. Before your body warms up, you may feel chilled, but once the blood
gets pumping, you'll feel overdressed. 10. Find your motivation. "People are motivated by
different things," says Durkin. It's important to first discover what your
individual goals are, whether it's losing weight, strengthening and toning, or
preparing for a race or event, says Durkin.
Think about how much time you spend each day sitting down. You may sit down throughout the entire working day at a desk in front of a computer. You sit during your commute to and from work. And you sit when you’re watching TV in the evening, or surfing the web.
ABC News reports that many of us spend up to 15 and a half hours sitting down every day. Furthermore, research suggests that even if you exercise regularly, this much sitting could have a major impact on your health.
In a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researcher Elin Ekblom-Bak found that prolonged bouts of sitting are strongly associated with obesity, abnormal metabolism, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and an increased risk of early mortality. And these risks do not decrease, even if you exercise daily. Simply put, even if you get up and run for an hour each morning, and then you sit at a desk at work for the next 10 hours, and then sit in front of the TV for another 3 hours, you’re just as much at risk for developing these conditions as someone who didn’t exercise at all. Another study, conducted by Dr. Rikke Krogh-Madsen with the Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism in Copenhagen, and quoted in Inc. Magazine, found that healthy individuals who were forced to reduce their daily steps from 6,000 to 10,000 steps down to just 2,000 steps had a 60% increase of insulin in their blood in just two weeks. Higher insulin in the blood leads to an increased risk of cancer and obesity. They also gained an average of 7% abdominal fat. Again, these changes occurred within two weeks of increased sitting. Our bodies simply aren’t designed to sit all day. Why Sitting Is Harmful Your body goes through certain physiological changes when it’s not being used. For instance, when the bigger muscles in the lower half of your body aren’t working, the inactivity sends a signal to your brain that changes your metabolism. These changes cause an increase in your blood sugar levels, and a 90% decrease in the amount of stored fat that’s used as fuel in your body. This, in turn, has a number of ill effects, from obesity to an increased risk of cancer later in life.
Sitting also causes the electrical activity in your muscles to slow down: When seated, your body only burns one calorie per minute. This is merely one-third of what it burns when walking. How to Sit Less & Stay Active I should stress again that even if you exercise every day, you’re still doing damage to your health by sitting for 10 or more hours a day, as prolonged sitting is harmful regardless. The good news is that reducing your sitting time is relatively easy to do – it just takes some changes in your routine, especially when you’re at work. 1. Use a Standing Desk A standing desk is exactly what it sounds like: a desk that’s situated at a height comfortable for you to use while standing. It’s a simple concept, and many people are making the switch to standing desks. Not only do these desks help you stay focused (it’s harder to slump over and zone out when you’re standing), they also enable you to burn calories when normally you’d be sitting sedentary. You don’t have to go out and invest in a standing desk, as IKEA sells several models of cheap desks that can easily be adjusted to standing heights. There are also some unique ideas that show you how to modify your current desk to standing height. For instance, you could raise your desk by putting crates or sturdy boxes beneath each of the legs. Keep in mind that these ideas work best at home. You could ask your boss if he or she would reimburse you for a standing desk, especially if you explain that you’ll likely be more productive as a result. You could also consider using an exercise ball chair instead of a regular chair. Exercise balls – or “stability balls” – force you to make tiny movements throughout the day to keep your balance. Although you’re still technically sitting, doctors call it “active sitting,” since you’re regularly moving. I use an exercise ball myself and love it; my core and back have gotten very strong, and moving and bouncing all day helps me keep focused and energized. 2. Drink From Small Cups You need to get up more frequently at the office if you use a small cup for coffee or water. I use this trick myself during the workday, as I find having to get up often to refill my water just means I’m moving more than I would if I were using a large mug. 3. Take Movement Breaks Make it a goal to get up from your desk and move every 15 to 20 minutes, or for 5 to 10 minutes every hour. It can be useful to use a timer to help you remember to move. Walk around your office when you’re on the phone, walk down the hall to ask your colleague a question instead of using IM, or just do some stretches. These are all easy ways to sneak a workout into your day. You can also do yourself a favor by not eating lunch at your desk, and then taking a walk immediately afterward. 4. Stand Up in Meetings If you’re in a management or leadership role, encourage your team to stand instead of sitting during meetings. Not only will the meeting likely be shorter, all of you will move more during the day as a result. Better yet, hold a walking meeting outside. If you’re not in a position to conduct a standing meeting, ask your boss if he or she would consider conducting standing meetings more often. 5. Stop Watching TV The amount of time Americans spend watching TV every day continues to increase – more than five hours per day on average. One of the best things you can do for your body (and your wallet), is to stop watching TV. Instead, use that time to move. Clean your house, play with your kids, or take your dog for a walk. There are endless things you can do that are far healthier than sitting on the couch. When you do watch TV, make an effort to get up and move during commercial breaks. Stretch, do some squats, or walk up and down the stairs. These small movements might not seem like they make much of a difference, but they really do. It’s not how long you move during these breaks, or even how you move – it’s how often you move that counts. 6. Avoid ConvenienceIt is largely our society’s love affair with convenience that has gotten us into this mess. We’re moving far less than we used to even 50 years ago. You can easily work more movement into your day by avoiding technological conveniences and doing things the old-fashioned way. For instance, don’t use instant messenger to talk to colleagues – walk over to their desk if need be. Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Don’t roll on your chair to grab a file – get up and walk over. If you commute by bus or train to work, get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way. Other changes at home can help you move more. For instance, don’t use a water hose to “sweep” your driveway. Instead, use a broom. Instead of piling your arms full of things to take upstairs, take one item at a time. Even better, save these chores to “interrupt” your TV time in the evenings. Final Word Many people can’t avoid sitting for the majority of the day. However, you can improve your health by moving more at regular intervals. Keep in mind that if you’re not doing any exercise at all, adopting a standing desk right away won’t be the best idea. This is because your body isn’t used to moving or standing all day, and you’d likely experience fatigue or discomfort by making such a dramatic change so quickly. Instead, start small and slowly work your way up to more movement. And remember, moving more during the day is definitely worth the effort. WebMD cites a study that followed Australians’ habits for six years. Researchers found that those who watched more than four hours of TV per day were 80% more likely to die of heart disease than those who watched less than two hours per day. One of the best things you can do for your health is turn off the TV, and move more. What do you during the day to break up your sitting?
My strategy has been to take exercise out of the box ( or gym) and figure out how to make it work for your lifestyle.
Willpower is sure to fade; schedules will always get over-crowded if you let it and there will never be the perfect time to exercise so just make up your mind that you are going to squeeze it in no matter what.
It must work for your life. Once you decided not it is not optional then you will begin to seek out ways to make it fit intoyour schedule.
Here are some ways to squeezeexerciseintoyour daily routine.
While talking on the phone, stand up instead of sitting, balance on one leg, go for a walk, do lunges, squats or stretches.
Spice up your bathroom routine -- while brushing your teeth, balance on one leg, do isometric abdominal exercises by sucking your abs in towards your spine, stretch or do wall squats
Not a fan of housework? Look at it as an opportunity to improve your health. Turn vacuuming into lunges; window cleaning into an arm workout and imagine the possibilities you can create with a broom!!!
Instead of trying to carry all of your groceries, files or garbage in one trip, take some extra time and make a few trips.
Who says meetings always have to be in a stuffy boardroom? Book a walking meeting and kill two birds with one stone.
Use commercial breaks during your favorite TV program to do push ups or abdominal exercises. Challenge yourself to improve each week.
Your chair is the perfect height for tricep dips ( see the picture above) -- make it part of your daily routine to do 10 dips before dinner; this will tone and strengthen your triceps.
Nearly 25% of Americans are thought to have prediabetes—a condition of
slightly elevated blood sugar levels that often develops into diabetes within
10 years—but only 4% of people know it. What's worse, of those who are aware,
less than half really tried to reduce their risk by losing weight, eating less,
and exercising more.
These are just a few of the
good-for-you habits that can reverse prediabetes and ensure you never get the
real thing, which can mean a lifetime of drugs and blood sugar monitoring, an
increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other scary health
threats. Read on for 12 healthy lifestyle habits everyone can start today.
Nudge the Scale
Shedding even 10 pounds can significantly slash your risk. Even
extremely overweight people were 70% less likely to develop diabetes when they
lost just 5% of their weight—even if they didn't exercise. If you weigh 175
pounds, that’s a little less than 9 pounds! Use our calorie calculator to see
how many calories you consume—and how many you need to shave off your diet—if
you want to lose a little.
Walk as much as you can every day. You'll be healthier—even if you
don't lose any weight People in a Finnish study who exercised the most—up to 4
hours a week, or about 35 minutes a day—dropped their risk ofdiabetes by 80%,
even if they didn’t lose any weight. This pattern holds up in study after
study: The famed Nurses' Health Study, for example, found that women who worked
up a sweat more than once a week reduced their risk of developing diabetes by
30%. And Chinese researchers determined that people with high blood sugar who
engaged in moderate exercise (and made other lifestyle changes) were 40% less
likely to develop full-blown diabetes.
Why is walking so wonderful? Studies show that exercise helps your body
utilize the hormone insulin more efficiently by increasing the number of
insulin receptors on your cells. Insulin helps blood sugar move into cells,
where it needs to go to provide energy and nutrition. Otherwise it just sloshes
around in your bloodstream, gumming up blood vessel walls and eventually
causing serious health problems.
Be a Cereal Connoisseur
Selecting the right cereal can help you slim down and steady blood
sugar. A higher whole grain intake is also linked to lower rates of breast
cancer, type 2diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke—and cereal is one of
the best sources of these lifesaving grains, if you know what to shop for. Some
tips: Look for the words high fiber on the box; that ensures at least 5 g per
serving. But don't stop there. Check the label; in some brands, the benefits of
fiber are overshadowed by the addition of refined grains, added sugar, or
cholesterol-raising fats. Decode the grains:Where that fiber comes from matters
too, so check the ingredient list to find out exactly what those flakes or
squares are made from. Millet, amaranth, quinoa, and oats are always whole
grain, but if you don’t see whole in front of wheat, corn, barley, or rice,
these grains have been refined and aren’t as healthy. Watch for hidden sugar: The "total
sugars" listing doesn’t distinguish between added and naturally occurring
sugars; the best way to tell is scan the ingredients again. The following terms represent added
sugars:brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high
fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, sugar, and
sucrose. Skip cereals that list any of these within the first three ingredients
(which are listed by weight).
Indulge Your Coffee Cravings
If you're a coffee fan, keep on sipping. The beverage may keep diabetes
at bay. After they studied 126,210 women and men, researchers at the Harvard
School of Public Health found that big-time coffee drinkers—those who downed
more than 6 daily cups—had a 29 to 54% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes
during the 18-year study. Sipping 4 to 5 cups cut risk about 29%; 1 to 3 cups
per day had little effect. Decaf coffee offered no protection. Caffeine in
other forms—tea, soda, chocolate—did. Researchers suspect that caffeine may
help by boosting metabolism. And coffee, the major caffeine source in the
study, also contains potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants that help cells
absorb sugar. But before you become a VIP at Dunkin Donuts, remember that a
medium chain-store cuppa is about 14 to 16 ounces—right there, that's 2
"cups" by standard measures.
Ditch the Drive-Thru
You might get away with an occasional fast-food splurge, but become a
regular "fast feeder" and your risk of diabetes skyrockets. That's
what University of Minnesota scientists found after they studied 3,000 people,
ages 18 to 30, for 15 years. At the start, everyone was at a normal weight. But
those who ate fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds and
developed twice the rate of insulin resistance—the two major risk factors for
type 2 diabetes—compared with those who indulged less than once a week. In addition to the jumbo portions, many fast
food meals are loaded with unhealthy trans fats and refined carbohydrates,
which may raisediabetes risk even if your weight remains stable. A better bet:
Keep a baggie of DIY trail mix in your purse at all times in case hunger pangs
come on. Nuts are known blood sugar—lowerers.
Go Veggie More Often
Consider red meat a treat—not something to eat every day. Women who ate
red meat at least 5 times a week had a 29% higher risk of type 2diabetes than
those who ate it less than once a week, found a 37,000-woman study at Brigham
and Women's Hospital. And eating processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs at
least 5 times a week raised type 2 diabetes risk by 43%, compared with eating
them less than once a week.
Spice Up Your Life
Cinnamon may help rein in high blood sugar. German researchers studied
65 adults with type 2 diabetes who then took a capsule containing the
equivalent of 1 g of cinnamon powder or a placebo 3 times a day for 4 months.
By the end, cinnamon reduced blood sugar by about 10%; the placebo users
improved by only 4%. Why? Compounds in cinnamon may activate enzymes that
stimulate insulin receptors. The sweet spice has also been shown to help lower
cholesterol and triglycerides, blood fats that may contribute to diabetes
risk.
Unwind Every Day
Chronic stress can send blood sugar levels soaring. When you're
stressed, your body is primed to take action. This gearing up causes your heart
to beat faster, your breath to quicken, and your stomach to knot. But it also
triggers your blood sugar levels to skyrocket. "Under stress, your body
goes into fight-or-flight mode, raising blood sugar levels to prepare you for
action," says Richard Surwit, PhD, author of The Mind-Body Diabetes
Revolutionand chief of medical psychology at Duke University. If your cells are
insulin resistant, the sugar builds up in your blood, with nowhere to
go—leading to chronically high levels. The good news is, simple relaxation
exercises and other stress management moves can help you gain control over
blood sugar levels, according to a study conducted at Duke University. Try these proven relaxers:
•Start your day with yoga, meditation, or a walk.
•Take three deep, slow breaths before answering the phone, starting the
car, serving the kids lunch, or any other activity.
•Reclaim your Sundays as a day of rest or fun with your family,
relaxing, worship, etc. Try to avoid spending the whole day on obligatory
errands such as mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, or catching up on work.
Get a Perfect Night's Rest
There's a sleep sweet spot when it comes to preventing diabetes. A Yale
University study of 1,709 men found that those who regularly got less than 6
hours of shut-eye doubled their diabetes risk; those who slept more than 8
hours tripled their odds. Previous studies have turned up similar findings in
women. "When you sleep too little—or too long because of sleep apnea—your
nervous system stays on alert," says lead researcher Klar Yaggi, MD, an
assistant professor of pulmonary medicine at Yale. This interferes with hormones that regulate
blood sugar. A Columbia University study found that sleeping less than 5 hours
also doubled the risk of high blood pressure. For a good night’s rest, avoid
caffeine after noon, leave work at the office, and skip late-night TV.
Oversleeping may be a sign of depression or a treatable sleep disorder, so talk
with your doctor.
Have a Blood Test
Many diabetes symptoms are silent.
A simple blood test can reveal whether sugar levels put you at risk for
the condition. People with prediabetes—slightly elevated blood sugar levels,
between 100 and 125 mg/dl—often develop a full-blown case within 10 years.
Knowing your blood sugar levels are a little high can put you on a track to
steadying them—with simple diet and exercise changes—before diabetes sets in
and medications may be necessary.
