Makeripples

I am sure you have all had to run to the next gate in an airport only to find yourself panting from the exertion. It is at that exact moment that you swear you will start an aerobics class or some fitness programs soon as you return from the trip. Once you get home the chores of daily life keep you busy and you forget, besides, who wants to start fast walking when the temperature is below zero? If any of this sounds familiar, maybe I can help persuade a bit with this month's newsletter.

Please don't think of exercise only as the thing you do when you get the time or motivation to do it. Regular exercise is important! Along with all the well known benefits It will also improve digestion by stimulating the movement of food through the intestines. Thus, you enable the body to eliminate on a more regular basis thus lessening the toxins in the system. Even 10 minutes of extra exercise daily will significantly reduce the risk of heart disease.

I agree with Dr. Majid Ali, MD who said that “food fuels the furnace of metabolism; and exercise stokes the fire”. You should however understand that not all exercises perform the same functions in the body.

Exercise that causes sweating and heavy breathing burns sugar or carbohydrates. This type of exercise is ideal too firm up a body that is close to ideal size.

Overweight people need fat burning exercise that is slow and sustained, such as walking. 45 to 60 minutes of moderately fast walking daily will raise the rate of metabolism, causing your body to burn more calories during normal daily activities.

Since this would mean you will burn your calories faster, it translates to the fact that you may be able to eat the same amount of food as you are used to, but still loose weight. Of coarse it is very important that you have a healthy diet if you plan to keep it.

It is important to find an exercise you enjoy. If exercise is looked at as a task, it will add to the stress in your life as opposed to help alleviate it as it should.

As a general rule your heart rate should go up to at least 110 beats per minute, but not over 150. This varies with age but these numbers are generally considered safe. Depending on the exercise you are used to getting this may only require a moderate speed walk. Typically “O” blood types will require a slightly more strenuous exercise to achieve increased heart rate. Where blood type B or A may do well with less strenuous work outs. I suggest listening to music with an up beat and planning to make it to the end of the 4th or 5th song, rather than watching the time.

If you have decided that walking is your exercise you might want to add ankle weights. Once weight is added to the movement it helps keeps bones dense. This is of particular interest now that the media has blown the whistle on hormone replacement therapy as we knew it . In a study sited in “Alternative Medicine” by Burton Goldberg, Osteoporosis spinal bone mass increase averaged at 0.5% annually in women who vigorously walked for 50 minutes four times a week. The non-exercise group lost 7% of spinal bone mass in the same year.

Not all exercise needs to be vigorous. Excess daily stress leads to the production of adrenaline, which raises blood sugar levels. Calming exercises can affect your metabolism which will lower blood sugar, assist weight control, and improve oxygenation and circulation.

An added benefit to regular exercise is that it improves digestion by stimulating the movement of food through the intestines. You enable the body to eliminate on a more regular basis thus lessening the toxins in the system.

So.. Now you know that regular exercise is good for many areas of health lets be honest; the most popular reason is that we want to look good in those summer clothes.

The bottom line for weight management is that you need to manage your body's metabolism and exercise is the key ingredient. It is helpful to know your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), a measurement of how many calories your body burns while at rest. For example, if your RMR is 1600 and you sit on the couch all day and eat 1700 calories you know that you are going to gain weight. If you add some regular exercise then you will burn off those extra calories and also condition your body to burn more even at rest.

As a general guideline, you will loose one pound for every 3500 calories that you can reduce in your caloric balance. This is done by eating 3500 calories less, burning 3500 calories through exercise or a balance of both.

Some common exercises are listed below along with the calories you may burn:

• 30 minutes of slow walking at 2 mph - 69
• 30 minutes of fast walking at 4 mph - 174
• 20 minutes of stationary bicycling - 127
• 30 minutes of general jogging - 162
• 20 minutes of running at 5 mph - 185
• 30 minutes of swimming laps - 243

It is a shame that everyone seems to be looking for a magic pill or super diet that will allow weight loss without exercise. As I research the ways to improve the metabolism and burn calories the most efficient way, I am repeatedly seeing that the only permanent way to loose the weight is to exercise.

Let’s not get caught up in just pounds. I think we have all experienced the process of gaining muscle while burning fat. If so you understand that the scales actually read a higher number. It is best to judge your program for weight and exercise by how healthy you feel and how the clothes fit. Remember… don’t put this on the back burner….