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EXERCISE: Need an Emotional Uplift from the Brain Drain?

April 23, 2010 By Blake 5 Comments
brain and exercise

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When it comes to boosting your mood, exercise is the gift that keeps on giving and giving. In fact, the feel-good afterglow a workout brings may last far beyond the hour or so that’s been previously assumed.

“Moderate intensity aerobic exercise improves mood immediately and those improvements can last up to 12 hours,” concluded in a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle. Lead researcher Dr. Jeremy Sibold, assistant professor of rehabilitation and movement science at the University of Vermont, tracked the mood enhancing effects of exercise for a 24 hour period post exercise. Other studies have found a mood-boosting effect to exercise, but the other research hadn’t tracked the effect for as long as Sibold and his team did. “This is one of the few studies that actually looked at a much longer window, 24 hours,” he said. “The question I was interested in was, ‘How long does that feel-good effect, that improvement, last?’”

To find out, 48 healthy men and women were randomly assigned to a control group that did not exercise, or to a group that did exercise. The participants ranged from 18 to 25 years old. At the start of the study, all participants completed a standard survey of mood. The exercisers then rode on a stationary bike for 20 minutes at moderate intensity. All participants then repeated the mood survey at one, two, four, eight, 12 and 24 hours later.

The mood of the exercisers was better than that of the sedentary group immediately after the workout and for up to 12 hours later, Sibold found. “This goes a long way to show that even moderate aerobic exercise has the potential to mitigate the daily stress that results in your mood being disturbed,” he said. Men and women seemed to benefit equally, and the fitness level of the participant didn’t seem to matter, the researchers noted.

Experts believe that exercise’s mood-boosting effects are partly due to a rise in levels of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters, such as endorphins, in the brain. The findings point yet again to exercise as a cheap, easily accessible tool against blue moods and even depression. Depression is a wide spread disease that in part can be fought off by higher levels of activity. The “dose” of exercise needed to lift mood is not a lot, Sibold said. “We aren’t talking about a Lance Armstrong workout.” A few minutes a day could pay off, he said.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. That can be done in five days a week in 30-minute sessions. The key is to find something you enjoy; walking, jogging, gardening, resistance training, cycling and fit it in to your daily activity plan. A little can go a long way if done consistently. With all of the negativity abounding in the media and on the air waves, finding a simple solution to get a mental and/or emotional advantage to get the most out of your day, and your life seems paramount.

To find out how to start, call Fitness Together in Mission Hills at 619.794.0014.  Visit our website at http://www.fitnesstogether/missionhills.

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: aerobic, American College of Sports Medicine, brain, depression, emotional, endorphins, exercise, fitness together, Lance Armstrong, mental, mission hills, mood, mood survey, neurotransmitters, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

10 Proven Weight Loss Strategies

April 16, 2010 By Blake 2 Comments
High Protein foods

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Fitness is an equation of sorts. It is 70% food behavior, 20% workout intensity and 10% genetics. Genetics, we are stuck with, but we can do much with the other two parts of this math. For weight loss, you’ll need 100% focus on the 70% piece of the equation. Here are 10 proven strategies you can put in practice today.

  1. The macronutrient content of your meals wisely.  The type of food you select can help you boost your metabolism and feel fuller and more satisfied longer. Protein reduces appetite and costs your body the most calories to metabolize. Fiber is filling and helps keep hunger at bay, helping you make wiser choices at major meals.
  2. Eat small, frequent meals. The more meals and snacks you eat a day, the healthier your weight is likely to be. Eating breakfast and eating frequently increases metabolism. Aim to eat a healthy breakfast every morning followed by four or five small meals throughout the day. Eating less is not the answer. Timing, quantity and quality are the keys.
  3. Control calories and portions. To lose weight you must consume fewer calories than your body expends, regardless of the carbs/fat/protein ratio. Do you have any idea how many calories you are consuming, so that you can still eat the foods you love and lose weight?
  4. Keep a journal. Studies show that people are most successful at maintaining healthy eating habits when they watch and record the type and quantity of food consumed. Take it a step further with an Accountability Journal to help you track both eating and exercise choices. Now you know your calories in, and calories out.
  5. Learn how to control emotional eating. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. Successful weight losers have learned to apply behavior modification tools to help them deal with their emotional eating triggers and learn healthful techniques to help manage these emotions. Why are you about to eat that?
  6. Weigh regularly. Frequent weighing is proven to help people achieve and sustain weight loss. Not weighing in is actually associated with greater weight regain. Be smart here. Once a week, is probably best so that you don’t talk yourself into failure when the scale may not be moving but your body composition is. Do you know your body fat numbers and associated BMI?
  7. Lose weight at a safe rate. Weight lost too quickly often returns — sometimes with additional pounds. The safest diets promote weight loss of no more than two pounds (or 1% of total body weight) a week.
  8. Get support and rewards for your successes. Weekly contact with a support person — and small rewards along the way — are proven to increase the likelihood of maintaining new healthy habits. Having a friend “in the trench” creates support, accountability and camaraderie in the journey.
  9. Include strength training, not just cardio. The most successful programs for promoting health and long-term weight control involve combinations of exercise and diet. Balancing cardio exercise with strength training is the best prescription for promoting health, fitness and weight control. Lean tissue burns more calories. Strength training builds lean tissue. Timing, frequency and alterations to intensities will also promote faster gains.
  10. Nutrition Together offers a calorie-controlled nutrition plan that, when combined with the Fitness Together exercise program, results in a safe and effective rate of weight loss.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Fitness Together in Mission Hills at 619.794.0014.  You can also visit our website at http://www.fitnesstogether.com/missionhills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Weight Loss Tagged With: calories, cardio, diet, emotional eating, Fitness, fitness together, genetics, journal, lose weight, mission hills, nutrition together, protein, safe, strength, weigh, Weight Loss

Food for Thought: Simple Tips for Healthy Eating

April 16, 2010 By Gwen 4 Comments
food choices

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Healthy eating  requires some planning, purpose, and an effort to include a variety of foods in your meals. If you look closely at how you eat, you might find you aren’t getting enough nutrients because you don’t get the recommended number of servings from each food group. Not only is it important to pay attention to what you eat, but also to what food groups you may not eat enough of. To accomplish this, keep a food journal of everything you eat and drink for 1 week or so. It will help you see trends, both good, and bad.

The National Network News ran a story in mid July 2009 on a study published by Kaiser Permanente on 1500 subjects regarding food behaviors and weight loss. Those that kept a food journal lost twice the weight of their non journaling counter parts. Two theories come to mind. If we have to write it down, we are less likely to consume it, and if we don’t write it down, we can’t remember what we ate, or its caloric content. What did you have for lunch yesterday, two days ago? Journaling is a good tool to help you stay the course and make more conscientious choices on what and why you’re eating.

Paying attention to serving size is SO important. You may not know that a serving size of cereal is only 1 ounce, which is ½ to ¾ cup for most cereals. That means a typical bowl of cereal is usually far more than a serving. So instead of a big bowl of cereal and milk for breakfast, have one or two servings (1 to 2 ounces) of cereal with a sliced banana, and have a small glass (1 cup) of juice. Try low-fat, or nonfat milk, or soy milk instead of whole milk on your cereal to reduce the amount of fat calories.

Eating out: When you eat out, you are relinquishing control over how your meal is prepared. You really don’t know the hidden calories and fat. Most dine out meals are super sized, compounded by sodium loading to enhance the flavor. Both are generally bad for us. Skip the condiments, sauces, and dressings, or at least have them served “on the side” so you can control the portions. Water with lemon anyone? How about sorbet or fruit for dessert? Sharing a meal, or eating half, and taking the other half home, is always a great way to keep your caloric intake down, and spread out the economics of dining out. You’ll find once you get home, half was plenty, as it takes about 20 minutes for our brains to register the “I’m full” notion.

On the go: Fresh Fruit, baby carrots, low fat cheese sticks, almonds, trail mix, meal replacement shakes. Try to limit processed foods and watch for high sodium content as our first reaction to thirst is hunger. Also, too much sodium makes you retain water and then bloat.

Grocery Store: Make a list! Don’t go hungry! Whole, natural foods are at the perimeter of the store, so most of your time shopping should be done there.

I was raised having to eat all the food on my plate before I could leave the dinner table (or have dessert!), as I’m sure many of you were. The key to this is…………WHAT is on THAT plate? Eat smart, journal, WIN!!

Questions?  Call us Fitness Together in Mission Hills at 619.794.0014.  Visit our website at http://www.fitnesstogether/missionhills.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: fat, fitness together, food behaviors, food journal, grocery store, healthy eating, journaling, mission hills, natural foods, on the go, perimeter, serving size, Weight Loss