11 Surprising Reasons to Exercise

In a previous article I talked about healthy ways to lose weight. There are LOTS of simple changes you can make in your diet and lifestyle that will help with weight loss. And yet it won’t all come together and work for you unless you keep in mind the simple advice to eat less and exercise more. The hardest part of that advice is finding powerful reasons to exercise. What kind of exercise would you enjoy? For most people eating less is much easier than exercising more or doing any exercise at all! We all HAVE to eat and we can choose to eat less. But for most of us, exercise becomes optional. Having too many responsibilities along with simply too much to do and avoiding exercise can become the norm. However, if you find a strong reason to exercise it will help you to find the time to squeeze more physical activity into your busy lifestyle. Today I have 11 surprising reasons to exercise that you may not know. 1. Don’t let your genes stop you. Do you feel losing weight is a hopeless battle because of your genes? Well think again. New research demonstrates how exercise can override ‘fat genes’. Something as simple as a brisk walk can fight the tendency to be overweight. This is very good news because this puts the benefits of exercise within reach of more people. You don’t have to RUN a marathon! 2. Exercise may positively impact neurons and appetite. Have you ever felt like you could not stop eating? You didn’t feel satisfied? Why this happens is complicated. However, scientists have now learned that ONE of the reasons may relate to having insensitive neurons. In a study with rodents, exercise seemed to restore the sensitivity of those neurons enabling them to trigger a sense of satiety or fullness. More research is necessary to learn if the same may be true for humans. The researchers in this study speculate that excessive consumption of fat may have interfered with the signal. 3. Prevent weight gain. Research suggests that 60 minutes of moderate exercise a day is needed to prevent weight gain as you age unless you change your dietary habits. If you ramp that exercise up to INTENSE, you will only need to exercise 30 minutes a day. (Wall Street Journal, 3/25/10) 4. Avoid re-gaining weight. A very important but under-appreciated benefit of exercise is that it can keep lost pounds from returning. Taking weight off in the first place can be a real struggle. When you succeed the last thing you want is to regain those lost pounds! So include exercise in your weight loss regimen NOW and it will have become second nature by the time you achieve your weight loss goals. If you find the thought of doing intense exercise an unattainable goal, you are not alone. A recent study suggests only 5.07% of Americans do any kind of vigorous or intense physical activity on a regular basis. Maybe we need to rethink our way of living. In other cultures and communities around the world where walking and cycling are the dominate means of transportation rather than driving, there are lower levels of obesity and diabetes. It seems that the dominant form of moderate activity for Americans is actually related to the preparation of food and drink! Hmm… 5. Moderate exercise may significantly reduce risk for certain kinds of cancer. It has been estimated that “More than 10,000 cases of breast and bowel cancer could be prevented each year if people took more exercise, such as going for brisk walks.” (See: Moderate Exercise ‘Could Cut Cancer’ ) Losing weight whether you exercise or not will ALSO reduce risk for cancer. 6. You’re not lazy! Just because you don’t like exercise it may not mean you are lazy. It may simply be the way in which your body protects you from the possibility of encountering pain. (Opinion of a Washington, D.C. personal trainer 11/12/09) There are painless ways to exercise for just about everyone. You may just need a little help finding out what will work best for you. 7. Sitting for long periods of time is not good for lifespan. A recent study suggests the longer a person sits has a negative impact on the length of his or her life. The speculation is that sitting increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease. Combining exercise with sitting helps to reduce that risk. If you work at a desk/computer job all day as I do, you may want to find ways to get up and move about as often as your job or business allows. Not only might you burn more calories but you may also increase your lifespan. (The Longer You Sit, the Shorter Your Life ) 8. Exercise decreases the risk for getting dementia or Alzheimer’s. Exercise increases the growth of new brain cells. (See: Your Brain on Exercise) 9. Exercise helps with the regulation of hormones that impact appetite. Exercise seems to reduce hunger in lean women but not obese women. (Unfortunately, overweight but not obese women were not included in the study.) Evidently, the expression of the hormone leptin is changed in obese women. When leptin function is normal it works to lessen your appetite when you’ve had enough to eat. However, don’t rule out exercise for this reason if you have many pounds to lose. Exercise may positively influence other hormones in your body that will help you regulate appetite (Ghrelin stimulates appetite and peptide YY suppresses appetite). Another important point about exercise is that aerobic/cardio exercise is better at suppressing appetite than non-aerobic exercise. 10. Not exercising will age you faster. If you have begun the path of adding more years to your life you may be dismayed to learn that NOT exercising can cause you to become fatter as your metabolism slows AND it can actually make your face look older! 11. Exercise has been shown to improve sleep for those who suffer from insomnia. (See: Regular exercise combats insomnia ) Although exercise can provide you with many benefits as I’ve outlined here, it’s best not to count on exercise alone for weight loss. Most people need to combine exercise WITH a change in eating habits. One of the reasons for this is that it is all too easy to replace or exceed the number of calories burned with food. I hope this article on 11 surprising reasons to exercise has given you at least one new reason to choose exercise for weight loss, weight maintenance, or simply better health. Till next time, watch those calories, eat healthy food, and re-evaluate exercise in your life! addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.womenandweight.com%2Fexercise%2Freasons-to-exercis%2F’; addthis_title = ‘11+Surprising+Reasons+to+Exercise’; addthis_pub = ”;

Healthy Ways to Lose Weight

There are hundreds maybe thousands of healthy ways to lose weight. Each small change you make to improve your diet and lifestyle will help. I have many tips and other articles I will share with you today for some great ideas. However, I also want to emphasize two simple but very important concepts that impact everything else you do. The best way to achieve long term success with weight loss and better health is to eat less (but enough to allow for a nutritionally balanced diet) and exercise more. Although the concept to eat less and exercise more may seem obvious, it is not. It may seem easy but it is not. Although there are probably more articles written about calories, exercise, and weight loss than just about any other topic online, relatively little is accurate. I have an article I would like to share with you today that I wrote a while ago for another online site. Maybe it will help you have a better understanding of why these concepts matter. I will also share with you lots of additional tips for healthy ways to lose weight. Eat Less, Exercise More for Weight Loss – Yes or No? You’ve likely heard the line “eat less and exercise more to lose weight” more times than you care to remember. But is it true? Yes, no, maybe so? I wish it were as simple as it sounds! In all fairness to the health professionals, including me, who favor this approach to weight loss, it is the easiest and quickest way to provide a response to the question of how to lose weight. And therein lies the problem. Not everyone understands the science behind this recommendation. Here’s a short list of things to keep in mind: 1. Is it possible to lose weight without exercise? Yes, it is. What matters most is calories. In general, if you eat more calories then your body burns the extra will be stored as fat. If you eat less, your body will burn stored calories and you will lose weight. It is actually more complicated than this but for the most part the concept is true. You can choose to reduce your calorie intake to be lower than your total energy needs without exercise or create an energy deficit with exercise and calorie reduction. 2. Is it better to lose weight with exercise? Exercise in combination with calorie reduction is always the better choice whenever possible. The benefits of exercise for improved health and wellness go far beyond the potential benefit of faster weight loss. 3. Is it possible to exercise and not lose weight? Yes, absolutely. Again, calories are of central importance. Many people chose to exercise for weight loss without giving much thought if any to calories. For example, it is all too easy to unknowingly overeat and thereby overcompensate for calories burned with exercise. The net result is weight gain not loss. That’s one example. There are many other reasons why exercise may not result in any weight loss. 4. Can you eat less and not lose weight? Yes! It comes back to the question of calories. It is possible to eat less food in terms of volume but still be eating too many calories. This is easy to do if you choose calorie-dense foods (high calorie foods) such as those rich in sweets and/or fats. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce your calorie intake too far. If you neglect to eat enough calories to meet basic energy needs, you could slow down your metabolism. You may be eating fewer total calories but your body needs less to survive. This is something to avoid! 5. Do you know how many calories you need for maintenance for someone of your age, sex, and current weight? How many calories would you need at a healthy weight? If you choose to eat less, know your calorie needs. A recent survey study (International Food Information Council, 2007) revealed that only 11% of Americans know the correct calorie intake for someone of their age and weight. If you don’t know these figures find out how many calories you eat on average vs. how many you need to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. (See: How Many Calories Per Day Do I Need? ) 6. Do you know the recommended MINIMUM calorie intake for someone of your age, sex, and weight? A general guide for women is a minimum intake of 1200 calories a day. The general guide for men is a minimum intake of 1500 to 1600 calories a day. However, what you may not realize is that these values are based in part on basal metabolic needs. If you weigh significantly more than the recommended weight for your age and sex, your minimal caloric needs will likely be higher. You will also have higher caloric needs if you are an active person or you engage in regular exercise. (Read 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started! to determine your minimum calorie needs ) 7. Calories contribute to your total energy intake no matter what the source. If you choose to eat healthier foods such as low calorie fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, lean protein or low fat milk products, it is still possible to overeat. You may be eating less high calorie, unhealthy food, however, too many calories are still too many calories no matter what the source. It seems that as few as 31% of Americans understand this concept (International Food Information Council, 2007). (See: 1200 calorie diet plan and 1500 calorie diet plan) The idea of losing weight simply by choosing certain foods over other foods and keeping calorie intake constant is tempting. Certain food components actually do cause a small increase in metabolic rate in the same manner as the ingredients of some weight loss supplements. An increase in metabolic rate will burn more calories. However, having said that, the degree to which metabolism can be increased and the safety of doing this go beyond the scope of this article. The bottom line is that calories count and always will. (See: Increase Your Metabolism) I hope I have succeeded in getting you to explore the logic behind the advice to “eat less and exercise more.” First get a handle on how many calories you need to maintain a healthy weight for YOUR metabolic rate and activity level. Then determine your calorie boundaries. Know how many calories are too many as well as the number for what is too little. These are the basics you must keep in mind to make the eat less, exercise more recommendation for weight loss work for you. O.K. Now for some more tips on healthy ways to lose weight: 50 Ways to Succeed with Weight Loss Starting Today! 300 Calorie Mini Meals: Eat Less but Often 25 Quick, Easy, and Fun Ways to Burn 100 Calories 28 Healthy, Low Calorie Snack Foods to Go Get Plenty of Fiber: Ten Tips Whole Grains are a Weight Loss Winner! Healthy Low Calorie Beverages: 100 Calories or Less! Want even more tips? Just click on the articles link on the menu bar at the top of every page on my site. Till next time, watch those calories, eat healthy food, and consider giving exercise a chance if you haven’t already! addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.womenandweight.com%2Fexercise%2Fhealthy-ways-to-lose-weight%2F’; addthis_title = ‘Healthy+Ways+to+Lose+Weight’; addthis_pub = ”;

Low Calorie Chicken Recipe and Sample Diet Menu

I have a new sample menu for you today that includes a low calorie chicken and cheese casserole recipe. As with many of my previous menus this one can be enjoyed as is for approximately 1200 calories or modified to fit a 1300, 1400, or 1500 calorie diet. I like trying new recipes. Discovering new ways to prepare simple, healthy, and tasty food is fun! AND I want to provide YOU with as many ideas as I possibly can to encourage you to expand the list of healthy low calorie food you enjoy eating. There are thousands of ways to enjoy healthy food. It bothers me when I hear someone talk about eating healthy food as if it were some sort of punishment! The hardest part of a healthy diet is the portion size! Not the taste. Did you have a chance to read my previous article on 10 Healthy Recipes to Try? I have yet to test those recipes because I have so many to choose from! My new recipes for this week included Blueberry Maple Muffins, Zucchini Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Raisins and Walnuts, and a variation of Keshi Yena, a delicious chicken stuffed cheese dish from the Caribbean Island of Curacao. I’m including the later recipe in my sample menu today. I normally hesitate to choose a dish with as much cheese as called for in the Keshi Yena recipe (the modified recipe can be found on my Chocolate Veggies website). However, I learned that I had only to make a few minor modifications such as reducing the cheese a little and remembering to take portion size into account. Because the sodium content still comes up quite high I made a conscious decision to limit sodium (and saturated fat) for the rest of the day’s menu. (Planning healthy menus can be fun. I do my menu planning with the help of MyFoodDiary.com If you would like to learn more about how I go about planning a menu you may want to read: Planning a 7 Day Diet Menu. To modify today’s menu for a 1300, 1400, or 1500 calorie diet, look for my comments below. 1200 Calorie Sample Menu Breakfast 3/4 cup Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal (110 calories) 1/2 cup nonfat milk 1?2 cup Orange Juice (55 calories) Snack 1 Mini Babybel Light Original Cheese (Laughing Cow, 50 calories) Lunch Quinoa and Black Beans Quick Salad (301 calories, see recipe below) 1 medium peach 1 Starbuck Cafe au Lait w/nonfat milk, grande (70 calories) [To prepare Quinoa and Black Beans Quick Salad: The secret to making this a quick and easy recipe is to prepare is to make the quinoa ahead of time. Quinoa is not actually a grain but is considered to be one in the culinary sense. It is easy to prepare. I’d encourage you to cook up a dry cup of quinoa at the beginning of the week. That will make 3-4 cups cooked that you can keep refrigerated and use during the week in multitude of different ways. To learn more about quinoa read: Healthy Low Calorie Quinoa Recipes . If you prefer not to give quinoa a try (it’s really quite good!) you might substitute whole wheat couscous or brown rice. Mix one cup of the cooked quinoa with 1/2 cup of canned black beans, rinsed. Add 1/2 cup chopped tomato and 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper. Add whatever herbs and spices you would like; however, I urge you to skip or go very easy on salt because there is already more than enough sodium in the dinner recipe.] Snack 1 mini food bar Cherry Pie (Larabar, 90 calories) Supper 1 serving Keshi Yena (Chicken Stuffed Cheese, 289 calories) Tomato Avocado Salad (95 calories) 1 Kiwi fruit Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee (Always remember to get plenty of water throughout the day. Read Water, Weight, and Women to learn more about your water needs.) Total Calories = 1210 Total Fiber = 29.4 g Fat = 27% Carbs = 52% Protein = 21% (U.S. Dietary Guidelines Recommended percentages: Fat 20-35%, Carbohydrates 45-65%, Protein 10-35%) Calcium = 1100 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 + mg a day) Iron = 11.7 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg) 1300, 1400, or 1500 Calorie Diet Menu This menu has a fairly good balance of nutrients. However, it is a little short on calcium for postmenopausal women. If this describes you, you may want to supplement this menu with another serving of a low fat milk product. Or be sure to take a calcium supplement (with vitamin D). The menu is also short on iron for women between the ages of 19 and 50. Otherwise, for women of all ages, simply add an additional serving or two of one of the menu items or other food of your choice to bring the total calories up to the level you need. (I encourage you to read my article on how to determine the minimum SAFE caloric intake for you: 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Get Started! or How many calories a day do I need? ) Hope you enjoy the low calorie chicken recipe I created from a great Caribbean dish. Till next time watch those calories and eat healthy food! addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.womenandweight.com%2Fweight-management%2Fweight-loss%2Flow-calorie-chicken-recipe-and-sample-diet-menu%2F’; addthis_title = ‘Low+Calorie+Chicken+Recipe+and+Sample+Diet+Menu’; addthis_pub = ”;

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