Encouraging Health

Great news! You don’t have to starve yourself to get that perfect, fat-free frame. In fact, you shouldn’t.

Because even if you lose weight through dieting alone, your body won’t burn fat any easier. To rev up your fat-burning engines, focus less on how often you empty your plate and more on how often you fill your walking shoes.

Fat Burning and More
When a group of sedentary and overweight older adults recently tested three weight loss systems — exercise only (mostly walking), diet only, and exercise plus diet — there was no question about the results. When it came to fat burning, the walkers won hands down over those who simply watched what they ate. The bodies of the people who strutted their stuff used more fat to fuel their activity.

A Little Goes a Long Way
Just 30 minutes of daily walking gives you a host of health benefits besides extra fat burning, including more disease protection and better stress stomping.

Walking Off Fat — Fast!

6 Steps to the Perfect Walking Program
Think: Every Day, No Excuses
1. You must make walking a priority every day. And that’s walking — not gardening, or house cleaning, or hitting golf balls. You can do those things, too, but they can’t take the place of your daily walk. Use a calendar to keep track of your walks.

2. Think: Small
Walk just a few minutes a day if that’s all you can do right now. Then, increase by 1 or 2 minutes every few days. And go slow at first. You’ll still burn the same number of calories as a smaller person walking faster, because your body is carrying a bigger load. And walking slowly can reduce stress on the knees by up to 25%. Once you’ve built up your stamina, aim for 30 minutes every day (you can break it into three 10-minute walks if you like). Before you finish 2 weeks of walking, though, invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

3. Think: Warm-Up
Warm-ups prepare your body, physically and psychologically, for the upcoming workout. For walking, a slower walk is the warm-up. Do so for several minutes. Exactly how long depends on your age. As you become chronologically older, your body reacts more slowly to stimuli. You will know you are warmed up when you start to feel a little warmer and your heart beats a little faster.

4. Think: Pleasant
For most people, strenuous exercise is no fun. If you work so hard that you do not enjoy it, you will probably stop. So cut yourself some slack and keep the pace enjoyable. This will save you from overuse injuries, too. If you feel pain, do your body a favor and listen.

5. Think: Crank It Up (Gradually)
Once you’ve been walking for a while, and you’re feeling good and enjoying more energy and stamina, increase your activity — go faster or farther. But do not increase it more than 10% in any week, no matter how good you feel.

6. Think: Stretch, Stretch, Stretch

Great health without stretching is like trying to look good without combing your hair — it ain’t gonna happen. Set aside 2 or 3 minutes to stretch when you’re done walking. Stretching the muscles you just used allows them to be ready for the next time you want to use them. It’s not clear if stretching decreases soreness afterward, but it definitely improves and maintains joint range of motion.

Ever been tempted to take a little hiatus from your exercise routine? Well, here’s an unsettling fact that may help you stick with it — even if you go with an abridged version.

Light exercisers who quit cold turkey for a bit — rather than just scaling back — have a much harder time dropping the weight they gain during the break.
Better Than Nothing
Lighten up on exercise and you may gain a bit. But do nothing, or close to it, and things get much worse. When exercisers in a recent study slacked off, they gained exponentially more weight the closer they got to zero exercise. And here’s the kicker: The research also suggested that a prolonged hiatus produces weight gain that can’t be reversed by simply going back to your old routine. You have to do more. Yikes. So even if it feels strange to do less — like walking 1 mile instead of 3 or 4 — remind yourself that it’s infinitely better than doing nothing.

Walk Out On Your Favorite Exercise

There’s a lot to be said for being faithful to one thing. But not when it comes to this: exercise.

So don’t just walk. Hop, skip, jump, and gallop, too! Doing more than four different activities a week protects your brain as well as your body.

Your Brain on Exercise
And the rewards will be sweet, not just sweaty. In a study of more than 3,000 people 65 and older, those who engaged in four or more physical activities a week were less likely to develop dementia than those who did one or none (assuming they hadn’t inherited a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease). Being active defends your brain in half a dozen ways — from keeping your neurons sharp to releasing mind-enhancing hormones

Does cancer or any other disease run in your family? Then get with this 3-step program.

Step 1: Eat right. That means a plant-based diet like this:

Getting Off the Cow
Reducing the amount of red meat in your diet can be easy with these tips.

Cutting back on red meat makes good health sense and makes your RealAge younger. Studies show that eating too much red meat can increase your risk of many chronic health conditions. But what kind of nutrition hole is created when you limit red meat in your diet? The truth is, it’s easy to miss out on important nutrients when you cut back on a major food source. So, when you cut back on red meat, make a balanced eating plan to help ensure you don’t shortchange yourself on important nutrients such as protein, vitamins B12 and D, calcium, iron, and zinc.

Step 2: Walk on. Clock at least 30 minutes a day. Here’s an easy way to get started.

Walking Off Fat — Fast!

How the simple act of walking can get your waist where you want it — and quickly

Saying you’re too heavy to exercise is like saying you’re too skinny to eat. Your body needs exercise just the way your body needs food. And walking may be one of the best-kept secrets of weight loss. Many people who have succeeded in losing a lot say that walking every day was a key factor.

No matter how overweight you are, you can do something to start the process of losing fat, strengthening your bones, and relieving your joints of the load that they’re carrying. Just follow our six steps to the perfect walking program, and you’ll be walking off the fat in no time.

Step 3: Decompress. Spend 60 minutes a day destressing. And weekly talk therapy may be key, too. Here’s how to decompress:

1. ID the source of your stress. Some sources of stress are easy to point the finger at, but are they really what’s bothering you? Lashing out at your kids, for example, may be a reaction not to what your kids just did but to an extra assignment piled on at work. The first step to managing stress: pinpointing the true culprit.

2. Focus on the moment. Being mindful — really paying attention to the present, not the past or the future — can help you manage stress. Spend some time every day noticing the things most people tend to ignore — like breathing, bodily sensations, and emotions.

3. Look after your health. Stress is much more manageable when the other aspects of your life — from general health to sleep patterns to eating habits — are in good order. When you don’t get enough sleep, for instance, your body produces more stress hormones, making you more vulnerable to the damaging effects of stress. Evaluate what areas in your life need attention, and work on fixes.

4. Do a Workout. Or walk for 30 minutes, stretch, do yoga — just get up and move! Exercise is one of life’s greatest stress relievers. Try it.

5. Do the opposite. Every emotion has an “urge to act” that goes with it. When we feel afraid or anxious, we avoid things; when we’re depressed or sad, we withdraw; when we’re angry, we’re tempted to lash out or yell. Unfortunately, each of these behaviors actually makes things worse. But if you can do the opposite action, you may make things better. Worried about something? Tackle it instead of ignoring it. Angry at someone? Don’t lash out, be empathetic. Depressed? Go out rather than shutting yourself in.

6. Focus on your muscles. By tensing and relaxing your muscles, you can help relieve some of the physical stress that’s stored in your body. Start at the bottom: Tense the muscles of your feet and then relax them. Tense and relax the different muscle groups of your body one at a time — your legs, stomach, back, neck, arms, face, and head. And breathe.

Taking more exercise and eating the right foods may help increase levels of an enzyme vital for guarding against age-related cell damage, work suggests.

Among 24 men asked to adopt healthy lifestyle changes for a US study in The Lancet Oncology, levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average.

Telomerase repairs and lengthens telomeres, which cap and protect the ends of chromosomes housing DNA.

As people age, telomeres shorten and cells become more susceptible to dying.

It is the damage and death of cells that causes ageing and disease in people.

Several factors such as smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with shorter-than-average telomeres.

Professor Dean Ornish, from the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, and his team wanted to find out if improvements in diet and lifestyle might have the opposite effect.

They asked 30 men, all with low-risk prostate cancers, to take part in a three-month trial of comprehensive lifestyle changes.

These consisted of a diet high in fruit and vegetables, supplements of vitamins and fish oils, an exercise regimen and classes in stress management, relaxation techniques and breathing exercises.

Telomerase activity was measured at the beginning of the trial and again at the end.

Among the 24 men who had sufficient data for analysis, blood levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average.

Increases in telomerase activity were linked with decreases in “bad” LDL cholesterol and decreases in one measure of stress - intrusive thoughts.

The researchers say it is too early to tell if the boost in telomerase levels will translate to a change in telomere length.

But there is evidence to suggest that telomere shortness and low telomerase activity might be important risk factors for cancer and cardiovascular disease.

“This might be a powerful motivator for many people to beneficially change their diet and lifestyle,” they told The Lancet Oncology.

Professor Tim Spector, from King’s College London, who has been researching ageing and telomeres, said: “This work builds on what we already know.

Know those little aches and pains you feel in the morning? You could do something right now to keep them from getting worse when you’re older.

Just jump to it. Okay, you don’t have to literally jump. But do be active. People who pick up their feet and commit to regular aerobic exercise have much less muscle and joint pain as they age.

How Much Less?
A 14-year study that followed a healthy over-60 crowd found that consistent exercise — be it running, biking, swimming, dancing, or brisk walking — led to as much as 25 percent less musculoskeletal pain down the road. Yes, even with the high-impact runners. Researchers aren’t sure why, but they suspect that exercise’s endorphin release may play a role.

Looking Ahead
Less pain when you’re older means a more active and independent life. Here are a few other ways to lower your risk of chronic future aches:
Hit the mat. Yoga boosts endorphins and improves flexibility and joint-supporting strength.

Cross-train. Mixing up your activities helps keep your back in good shape.

Have a cup or two . . . of green tea.

Bone loss, back pain, high cholesterol . . . very different problems. But there’s a single solution.

It’s cross-training. Research shows that increasing the variety of exercises you do increases the range of benefits you get. The triple reward for consistently mixing it up: stronger bones, a limber back, and a healthier cholesterol profile.

When women who went through menopause early combined a number of different physical activities — from strength training to jumping rope — the results were clear: broadening their fitness menu expanded their physical benefits. After 2 years of doing cross-training workouts at varying speeds and intensities, the women had increased their bone mass, boosted their muscle strength, reduced their back pain, and improved their cholesterol profiles.

The lesson for everyone: The more you mix up your workouts, the more rewards you’re likely to reap. And adding variety helps keep your interest up, too. Doing yoga or Pilates, jogging, hiking, lifting weights, biking, playing racquetball or golf, jumping rope, dancing, walking, swimming . . . it’s hard to get bored when you have so many get-moving options.

Check out Watching Simpsonsand find out what blogger Richard Ristow means when he writes ‘x-files meets simpsons’.

It burns fat, fends off disease, strengthens our bones, and improves our mood — and now studies suggest it may even suppress our appetites.

What’s this miracle of modern medicine? Actually, it’s pretty old-school. It’s exercise. Although the jury’s still out, new research suggests it may inhibit people’s munching.

Exercise More to Eat Less?
You’ve heard the expression “work up an appetite.” The reverse might actually be true. Overweight people in a study actually ate less — and dropped some body fat to boot — after 3 months of regular aerobic workouts on either a treadmill or a bicycle.

A Chemical Reaction
Researchers suspect there may be something chemical about exercise that helps increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a blood protein known to curb appetite. The higher the BDNF, the fewer calories the study participants consumed, and the more weight they lost.

More benefits of Walking:

1. I wish I had more energy.
A short brisk walk has both a calming and an energizing effect, according to research. And walking may help you feel more alert and well-rested because of its ability to improve the quality of your sleep.
2. I wish I could think more clearly.
Need to sort out some things in your head? Few activities help improve your perspective as quickly as a brisk walk, which will boost circulation in all parts of the body, including your brain.
3. I wish I could protect myself from my parents’ diseases.
Your genetics determine only a small part of your health profile. Research shows it’s how you live your life that really counts, and walking regularly can prevent and improve many serious chronic diseases.
4. I wish I could lose weight.
Although you might think that losing weight is the only way to enjoy an improved health profile, the truth is that regular walkers may not have to worry quite as much about what the scale says.
5. I wish I felt happier in general.
Protecting and nurturing your mental health is an important part of overall wellness, and studies show that walking regularly has the ability to lower your stress levels.

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Take time to find — and do — things that make you happy. It could mean better blood sugar.

It’s true. A study shows that depressed people may be 42 percent more likely to develop diabetes. And the stronger the sad symptoms, the greater the odds.

The Culprit: Unhealthy Habits
Sad feelings, researchers suspect, can make you wanna do some pretty unhealthy things — like pig out before bed, sack out on the couch all day, or maybe even smoke or drink. And those are all things that could put you on the road to diabetes. But bad habits are only part of the picture, experts note. Even in the absence of bad habits, depressed people are still more likely to develop diabetes.

Beating the Blues
Battling depression isn’t easy and may require counseling or other treatments if it’s severe or hangs around. But if you’ve got just the occasional blue mood, don’t let it linger. Bust out of it.

Any number of events can set off an unpleasant emotional reaction that leads to a blue mood. For some people, the blue mood can spiral into something deeper and last for weeks or longer. This level of depression typically requires treatment by a professional healthcare provider.

However, if you experience milder forms of depression, such as dysphoria, you can take steps to diffuse your negative feelings before your world comes crashing down and you put your health at risk.

First, take a closer look at three key facets of your life: 1) your thought processes, 2) your relationships, and 3) your stress levels. Next, assess how they influence your psyche on a daily basis and why. As you consider these areas of your life, develop a plan to more effectively deal with any troubling issues.

Read Healthy BPM to find out why livng for the weekend isn’t such a good idea.

Curls and sit-ups can definitely help tone your abs, but a new study suggests something else might work better.

Seems counterintuitive, but working your upper body may be the quickest path to a really sculpted middle.

Above-the-Belt Action
In a study, women did isometric exercises for their stomach, back, shoulders, and arms while researchers measured muscle activity. The results? Shoulder extensions made middle-body muscles contract most — apparently they work extra hard to stabilize your trunk when your wings are flapping.

Full-Body Fitness
Some more ways to get your midsection — and whole body — into mint condition:
Roll out the ball. For strong core muscles and better balance, do tummy and back toners on an exercise ball.

Add resistance. Use weights or resistance bands for extra burn.

The benefits of sneaking in some extra calorie burning are enormous. In a recent study, seniors who exercised in their leisure time were 25% less likely to die of any cause during a 12-year period. With a little creativity, you can make exercise part of your routine no matter how long your to-do list is.

You can use this simple 2-step plan to sneak some calorie-burning intensity into most of the activities that dominate the typical list of household chores.

Step 1: Add intensity
The key to turning any household task into exercise is to pick up the pace or intensity and sustain it for as long as comfortably possible without resting.

Step 2: Get creative
Some activities already require a high level of energy, such as Top 10 household chores for burning calories*

Chore Calories
1. Moving furniture 225
2. Scrubbing floors 189
3. Raking leaves 171
4. Gardening 162
5. Mowing the lawn 162
6. Washing the car 153
7. Cleaning windows 153
8. Vacuuming 84
9. Washing dishes 76
10. Doing laundry 72

* Estimations based on a 150-pound person and 30 minutes of activity

weeding the garden or raking the lawn. Turning up the burn on some other, less intense activities, such as washing dishes or dusting, may require you to be a little more creative.

Find out how you can work for Diddy.

Hate the thought of losing your mental edge — or worse, growing senile — as you age? Well, here’s a simple way to slash your risk of dementia by 73 percent:

Go for a power walk. People who regularly walk may be that much less likely to develop dementia compared with their couch-potato peers. Yeah, it’s that simple!

More Blood, Please
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. It’s the nosedive that memory and other cognitive functions can take when ailing blood vessels restrict — and sometimes block — the flow of blood to the brain. But because exercise — even mild exercise like walking — increases cerebral blood flow, it may shrink the risk.

Other Brain Savers
People with high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol up their odds of vascular dementia, so controlling those conditions is a start toward staying sharp. Here are a few other brain boosters to try:

Drink up! (Juice, that is.) Drinking fruit or vegetable juice at least three times per week may lower a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a recent study suggests. Antioxidants in the juice may be responsible for the effect. To keep your waistline from expanding, choose low-calorie or pure juices without any added sugar.

Slim down. Get your BMI under 25. It turns out that being seriously overweight not only translates into a greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and a host of other life-threatening conditions, but recent findings indicate that it’s bad for the brain as well. Especially if the weight is concentrated around the middle, because it’s associated with the brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Pop the right pills. Vitamin E and a daily aspirin are a good start.

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