No time for a workout? I’m sure you have 30 seconds. Researchers have found that a measly half minute sprint on a stationary bike 4 to 6 times a week can fire up your cells to get more energy (glucose) from food. It will help keep diabetes away. It’s not enough to really aid in your weight-loss. But it will really help your muscles, bones and even your mood.
You still need that half hour of walking a day, but these little sprints will really make you feel like you’re doing something good, and maybe inspire a few longer sessions too.
TODAY: DO A FEW HALF MINUTE SPRINTS ON AN EXERCISE BIKE, STEPPER OR JUST AN EXTRA FAST WALK.
One of the keys to eating less is knowing what it feels like to be full and what it feels like to be hungry. We tend to eat at the same times every day, and eat the same amount of food. But we don’t consume calories the same every day. You may mow the lawn one Saturday, but the next it rains and you sit inside watching TV. If you eat the same amount on both of thoe days guess what happens. Oh, I forgot, it already has.
When you are really hungry your stomach will rumble, you’ll feel sluggish, you get irritable. But think before you eat. How long has it been since you last ate? How much did you eat? How much are you planning to eat? Then get a nice big drink of water. Thirst and hunger are very similar to our brains. It’s not that you are filling your belly with water, you may be giving your body what it wants. The calories would have been bad. You would still be craving, and you would be craving that drink that you should have had in the first place.
TODAY: HAVE AN 8 OUNCE GLASS OF WATER BEFORE YOU EAT.
I love french fries. I really love GOOD french fries. The ones from fast food restaurants just don’t do it for me since they stopped frying them in lard. Hey, it’s the fat that makes a steak taste good too! So dropping fries from a fast food meal won’t really matter much. It does add up though. A small serving of fries has 210 calories. That’s about the same as a burger and you get hardly any nutritional value. If you supersize them it’s 610 calories!
So choose your fries wisely. If they’re real fries, cut from fresh potatoes and fried in peanut oil. (Like at 5 Guys) Go for a SMALL ORDER (Unless it’s at 5 Guys where you will SHARE a “small” order… and have the single patty burger!)
TODAY: RESOLVE TO EAT ONLY THE GOOD FRIES. DON’T WASTE CALORIES ON THE ORDINARY ONES.
Just so you don’t think that I nag you to walk because I think it’s a good idea. The nags all have factual basis. I may not be a doctor, but I’ve read what they recommend. And the big guy, the Surgeon General, recommends “30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on five or more days per week to improve your health and fitness.” It can be accumulated walking of 30 minutes, meaning it can be done in shorter lengths throughout the day. 10 or 15 minutes at a time during different parts of the day is fine. The ‘moderate intensity’ means you feel the exercise and get warm and slightly out of breath when you do it.
So get up and walk or we’ll have to stick a big red surgeon general warning on the side of your couch, because it’s hazardous to your health!
TODAY: GET OUT THERE AND WALK!
I ate at one of those “New American Cuisine” restaurants a while ago where the plates are large and the portions are beautiful but small. I’ve also noticed that those places also make a meal an event by drawing out the service over an hour or more. I ate well, though not much and it turned out I was full. It was the perfect demonstration of what you may have heard before. Namely, you won’t feel like you’ve had a satisfying meal until your brain tells you. It turns out that it takes 20 minutes until your stomach sends that signal. So slow down, even take a break mid meal to let the time pass. You’ll find that you will feel full on less. Maybe try eating with someone you like to talk with and share in conversation rather than calories. Your life will be fuller too.
TODAY: SPEND AT LEAST 20 MINUTES EATING YOUR MAIN MEALS.
Did you know that you don’t have to do all of your daily exercise at once? That’s right. It turns out that you get much of the same long term benefit by exercising in 10 minute chunks as doing it in one swoop. It only takes 30 minutes a day to start, and you can do it 10 minutes at a time. Do these 10 minutes like a regular workout with a couple of minutes of warm up stretches, then at least 7 minutes of exercise at a medium or high intensity and minute of slower cool down.
Begin your day with 10 minutes before breakfast. Ten at lunch and the last 10 in the evening. Take a power walk after dinner and take one of the family members with you. It will help get those in your support system involved. They may even want to partner with you during the day. You’ll feel better and even sleep better in just a short time. You may also find you want to add some more time as well.
TODAY: TRY A BRISK WALK IN THREE TEN MINUTE SESSIONS.
Call them garbanzo beans, chic peas, or spanish beans but call them part of your diet. They’s really good for you in a number of ways. They are loaded with protein, fiber and polyunsaturated fatty acids. All those things are good for your diet and heart. A surprising bonus is that they actually lower your total cholesterol and (bad) LDL while raising your HDL (good) levels. Eating about 25 ounces per week for 12 weeks is all you need to make this magic happen. That’s not all though. Insulin levels also improved and participants in the study actually lost weight without diet OR exercise. (Imagine how great you’ll do!)
Toss some whole beans on your salads. Puree them with some seasoning and olive oil to make hummus. Add them to three-bean salad. I like them with shredded cheese and a sweet and sour dressing (Splenda NOT sugar) They’re tasty, inexpensive. and filling.
TODAY: ADD GARBANZOS TO YOUR MENU.
Daily Nag, Exercise | Diet Nag | 
August 26, 2010 6:08 am | 
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