Starting Over Again—Yet Again

We don’t like to let go.  But going back to our mundane lives now has to happen and here we go again!  The holiday season has passed and all of us have been mostly sedentary and we certainly have overeaten.  So what are we going to do about it this time—go on a diet?  Commit to the gym?  Take a personal trainer or go to a weight loss group?  These are all great options, but what can we do different this time to really make a difference that can be maintained and bring the results that we all are looking for?  The statistics for people “finally deciding to really do something” aren’t very good.  In the secular world, every January 1^st, we hear about the New Year’s resolutions.  And taking care of our health is usually one of them.  Gym memberships soar at the beginning of the New Year, yet by March, the drop-out rate at gyms is astonishing.  People who have purchased half-year and full-year memberships are no longer attending.  The initial excitement slowly evaporates and we are all back into our mundane rut and bad habits.   So how do we get out of the rut and really make the necessary changes?  Here are a few rules to help you succeed this time around.  And a reminder, we have just finished the time of repentance and change so keep that in mind and this time, we really want to make it stick.

• The very first good idea for success for you in weight loss and health gain is to drop the grand plan. Slow and steady certainly is the winner here. Most of us put on weight over years and years, so don’t expect to drop an unreasonable amount of weight in a short time.  Keep your weight loss goals reasonable.  Two pounds or one kilo a week is really the maximum average weight loss you should expect for healthful and sustainable weight loss.   It is true that for people who have a lot of weight to lose, you might see a much larger drop the first few weeks, but a lot of that is water and built up glycogen in your muscles.  Once you start to become active, that begins to melt away and you see a larger drop than you would see from just fat weight.  But think about how many years it took to gain weight, and be reasonable about how long it can take to lose the same weight.  If you are on the right type of weight loss program, you will lose slowly but surely, but it will take less time to lose than what it took to put in on.

• Second, consistency is the key to success. Like anything else in life, the only way to get the results you want to see is to put it into your schedule and plan carefully.  If there is some necessity to cancel your exercise time, then make it up by moving it to another time or a different day.  The benefits of exercise are much more pronounced when they are consistent.  And remember that we should be walking 4-5 days a week briskly for at least 30 minutes for our cardiovascular health and dong 2-3 days a week of muscle building exercises.

• The third thing to remember is that if this isn’t a top priority, it will just fall by the wayside like other things you might get excited about but have no staying power. You don’t have to make it THE most important thing and you don’t have to obsess over it, but usually it has to be a top 5 priority in your life if you want this to work.  Learn how to say no to other things that might come along and interfere and also learn how to say no, politely, to others.  Put the word “I” back in your vocabulary and remember you don’t have to take a back seat to others.  You don’t have to make yourself more important all the time, but your health is at least as important and anything else.

• Four—don’t overlook the benefits of activity. We all have days where we just can’t do our formal exercise program.  Perhaps there are busy seasons in the workplace, family obligations, Simchas to organize.  But even in those times, and really all the time, it is of great importance to stay active.  Parking your car a few blocks away from your destination, getting off the bus a stop or two early, and using steps instead of elevators can help you lose another 4-5 kilos a year, or at least prevent that much weight gain if made into a habit that becomes part of  your life.  Leave that car at home when you can and just walk to your destination.  This can all make a huge difference in your life in terms of staying healthy and aging well.

• And finally number 5—DON’T GO ON A DIET. So you want to lose weight and automatically, your brain is telling you “go on a diet.”  DON’T!  Diets have never worked well for keeping weight off and why go through that whole losing battle anyway. The failure rate on diets is more that 95% in the long term.  So don’t bother.  Instead, get a food program that includes foods from all the necessary food groups.  Diets or food plans that exclude entire food groups, or make them very minimal.  Everyone is different and the ratio of proteins, unrefined carbohydrates and healthful, monounsaturated fats might be slightly different in each person—but YOUR BODY NEEDS ALL OF THEM. In other words, other than cases of food allergies or certain digestive diseases don’t eliminate nutrients that you definitely need for your health and your energy. And remember, we have to allow ourselves a treat every now and then.  Plan it, keep it reasonable and enjoy it.  Just make sure it fits in to your daily caloric allowance.

The end result? You will function better throughout the day, you will accomplish more and you will FEEL GREAT! Dropping the grand plan, being consistent, prioritizing, staying active with your exercise, and not dieting will,   “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”  

The Truth About Exercise!

Jonathan is 50 years old.  He came into my office with a host of problems. His main problems were lack of energy and being overweight, and he also suffered from a low-level, mild depression.  He had read some information about the benefits of exercise, but the material he was reading wasn’t entirely accurate.  He then proceeded to tell me that he started exercising on his own, but it had no positive effect on his weight, was making him even more tired and he was still depressed.  He was now even more depressed after the disappointment of not seeing results. Jonathan also told me that he knew he would be doing better if he could only go to the gym.  However, he had time and money issues in that regard.   I explained to him that proper exercise should be helping him with all three of his difficulties and that we would have to take a close look at what he is doing to refine his routine and figure out the best course of action.

We have a lot of perceptions about exercise that are true and probably just as many that aren’t true.  Let’s take a look at some common myths about exercise and what the proper way is to go about achieving your exercise goals:

“I need to go to a gym to get an effective workout.”  Gyms are certainly a convenient place to get a workout.  You generally have a nice selection of different types of equipment there. It’s air conditioned and you can take a shower before getting dressed after your workout.  The gym counselors or trainers are there to show you how to use the equipment and how many reps and sets you should do.  But, the gym isn’t for everyone.  You might have to wait for equipment to become available. You might feel uncomfortable working out with people on a higher level than you or for many, being overweight can also make one feel self-conscious.  Also, in gyms where people don’t clean up after themselves, you can easily pick up various bacteria on the equipment.  If you can walk, run, or bike outdoors, and do some dynamic exercises using your own weight (like push-ups and abdominal exercises), you can progress nicely in increasing your fitness and gaining overall health.  Some like to invest in having one piece of aerobic equipment (like a treadmill, bike or elliptical) in their home so that when the weather is bad, they have that alternative.

“Exercise doesn’t work for me.”  Exercise has been proven to be an effective way of managing a healthy weight, achieving performance goals and improving overall health.  There are a variety of reasons why someone might feel like exercise doesn’t work. Novice exercisers often become frustrated if they don’t immediately achieve results; many fitness programs promote false-hope promises like losing 10 pounds in 30 days; and sometimes people enter into an exercise routine with great intentions but start too hard too quickly and burn out.   The key to success is to go into exercise with a lifestyle change mindset. And, choose a type of exercise that you find pleasurable or mix up your routine if you’ve hit a plateau.

“I need to work out intensely in order to achieve results.”  Simply not true! Walking, biking, using any aerobic machine or swimming, even at a moderate pace, are great forms of exercise and can be effective at improving overall health for many individuals.  Since walking is the easiest and involves no expense, let’s expound on that. Walking provides innumerable physical, mental and emotional benefits. In fact, walking is one of the oldest forms of exercise. Hippocrates said, “Walking is a man’s best medicine.”  And according to Harvard Health, walking improves cardiovascular factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure; protects against obesity and diabetes; and protects against depression and dementia. The best part about walking is that it’s light on the joints and can be done every day, virtually anywhere. Walking is an ideal mode of transportation and a great way to expend extra calories throughout the day. Try walking on your lunch break or taking the stairs to burn more calories throughout the day.

“I should drink sports drinks during and after exercise.”  For most exercisers, only water is necessary.  Sports drink companies have been effective in using marketing tactics to make people believe that sports drinks are the perfect recovery beverage. Non-diet sports drinks contain high amounts of sugar, which hinders weight loss goals.  Anyone who exercises fewer than 60 minutes at a low to moderate intensity should only need water. Anyone who performs more than 60 to 90 minutes of high intensity exercise may require an electrolyte or carbohydrate replacement.

“I need to sweat a lot or I am not working hard enough.”  Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion.  Let’s face it. Some people sweat more easily than others. Sweating is the body’s method of cooling itself. According to Elizabeth Kovar MA, many people associate sweating with burning more calories, but it’s the heat that contributes to sweating and not necessarily the effort. Those who don’t sweat easily shouldn’t discredit their efforts since it is possible to burn a significant amount of calories without pouring sweat.

And so Jonathan and I went over what it was he was doing, and it became evident very quickly that although his intentions were good, he needed some guidance in what a balanced exercise program is.  The very first problem was that he was trying to run fast for as long as he could every day.  He wasn’t getting very far as he wasn’t in condition and didn’t understand what “building up” was all about.  Because he chose this path, he was ending up not even getting 12 minutes of exercise in each day.  Jonathan also wasn’t hydrating properly for exercise or even doing enough drinking during the day.  Also, there was no muscle building or stretching going in his routine.

The first adjustment was for him to walk 4.5 minutes and jog 30 seconds over a 30 minutes period of time.  This was doable for him and got him to the minimum 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.  We got him to drink water throughout the day, everyday so he was getting 10 cups per day and then when he exercised, he drank an extra cup before and 2-3 cups afterwards.  I gave him 6 simple stretches to get started with after his walk-run, and I taught him how to do push-ups and sit ups that were simple and easy to accomplish.

After two weeks, the first immediate result was an improvement in both the tiredness and the depression.  After a month, his pants finally were feeling looser and he was beginning to lose some weight.  Also after a month, his walk/runs now had a little more running going on too.  But you don’t have to run! Even 30 minutes of brisk walking can accomplish a lot.

We all know that exercise is good for just about everything, but if you are just starting out, it is very important to get proper instruction so you do it correctly and in balanced way.  Certainly we don’t want to take on too much too quickly.  Exercising smartly and correctly will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

Here We Go Again!

Spring is in full force.  All of the things that you have been putting off until now are staring you square in the face.  And for many of you, taking positive steps towards better health is probably on the list as it should be!  Weight loss may be at the forefront of your goals to achieve better health, among other areas we wish to focus on as we take steps to improve our health and well-being.

What have we hopefully left behind from the winter?  Overeating and inactivity.  Although the incentive might be there to start taking better care of our health and to lose weight (your clothes may be tight), it is very difficult to get back to good healthy habits once we have gone off of our eating and exercise programs. But now is the time to get back to healthy habits.  If you have been neglectful of your health for a long time, now is the time to make a plan you can implement and maintain.  The weather is warming up, getting outdoors will be easier and the extra bit of appetite from the cold winter won’t be a factor. So, let’s take a look at how we can accomplish this.

The first things first: Don’t go on a fad diet.  The statistics speak for themselves.  DIETS ARE FAILURES! About 95% of people that diet gain it all back or more within a few years.  (For more on the topic of why diets don’t work: Getting Back on Track—It’s After the Chagim, Don’t Make Weight Loss Mistakes.)So if not a diet, what should I do?  Get a food plan made for you by a registered dietician and make sure it is truly YOUR food plan.  That means it is doable, you won’t feel deprived and you won’t get hungry—but you will lose weight slowly and steadily.

Second, the temptation to go all-in and change your life around may be great, but research has shown beyond a doubt that small changes one at a time is the way to go.  A good idea might be to make one change to correct a bad eating habit (eating too late, snacking all day, not sitting down when you eat, or drinking 10 glasses of water throughout the day) and work on that.  At the same time take on something in the realm of activity and exercise that you aren’t currently doing (start using the stairs instead of the elevator, walking 30 minutes briskly every day, doing 15 push-ups twice a day before I eat breakfast and supper).  But only take one in each area.  Only when that becomes a firm and anchored behavior, should you move on to the next change.  As we mentioned, the weather is now ideal for outdoor workouts and activity!

Good for Walking

Scientists have already concluded in countless studies, that, exercise is essential for good health and disease prevention. The simple act of walking, if done properly and regularly, can be beneficial in many ways.  Brisk walking can help to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer and depression. It is important for both weight control and weight loss.

How often should you walk and at what pace?  The answer to this question depends upon your personal goal.  For instance, if weight loss is your goal, then you should count on walking every day.  If cardio-vascular fitness is what you are looking for, then every other day (4 times a week) may be enough for you.  Obviously, the longer and faster you can go, the more beneficial it will be, but, be careful that you don’t overdo it!  People that have been sedentary must start slowly and build up gradually.  It is essential that before you begin a walking program, you visit your doctor first for a complete medical evaluation.

Start at a comfortable pace; walk as though you are slightly late for an appointment.  Use the “talk test.”  If you can’t say your name three times in a row, you are pushing too hard.  You should aim for a minimum of 3.5 miles per hour.  For those of you who may want to work up to a power walk, you will want to eventually reach 4.5 mph or more.  The recommended minimum time for walking is 30-40 minutes, however if you are a beginner, start off slowly and build up to that amount.

Maintain good posture while you are walking and look straight ahead.  Swinging your arms will increase your caloric burn greatly, but make sure your arms are going in a forward direction and not crossing in front of you.  A good sturdy pair of proper walking shoes is essential and they need to be replaced about every 600-750 kilometers of walking.  If you don’t have proper shoes or your shoes are worn out, you probably will suffer some type of injury in the lower extremities.

Vitamin D Benefits

One of the great benefits of outdoor exercising in the summer is that sunshine is the primary source of Vitamin D.  Even in the more northern latitudes, where in the winter vitamin D is impossible to get from the sun, in the summer, it is abundant.  In recent years, numerous studies have shown that having adequate amounts of Vitamin D in our bodies prevents many cancers, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, asthma in children and diabetes. Later research seems to connect low levels of Vitamin D with a higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

Just this past month another new and extensive study proved the Vitamin D helps your overall heart function and efficiency.  In addition to heart disease, many cancers and immune system diseases like MS; it seems to help prevent rheumatoid arthritis, infectious diseases such as the flu and perhaps mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. So it seems that a little sunshine can go a long, long way.  20 minutes per day without sunscreen 4 days a week from 9:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon should do the trick.

Here is perhaps the best reason of all to exercise outdoors:  A February 2011 study found that outdoor workouts showed an improvement in mental well-being, compared with exercising indoors. Exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.

Caution in the Sun

Because the weather is now warmer, take caution to start early in the day or do your walking or jogging toward the evening hours.  Drink plenty of water before, after and during your walk. Once you’ve had your daily dose of sun, wear clothing that is lose-fitting, but covers much of your body on sunny days and wear a hat or cap to protect yourself from the sun and also to retain water.  Most water escapes through the head.

Although there are many other aspects to exercise that should be included in your overall program, working out in the outdoors is a great way to get started and this is the ideal time of the year for it.

If you want to make this season different from the previous ones, work on changing one habit or behavior at a time, stay away from those fad diets that ALWAYS fail and use the outdoors for your exercise.  Putting that all together will “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”

Are you tracking?

There is never a shortage of fitness “crazes”.  Every year, there is some exercise more “in” than the year before.  The same is certainly true of diets.  And in our pursuit of the quick fix, we go out and buy the latest diet book because we figure this time it will really “work”.  Many times, it’s a piece of exercise equipment that we are sure is the answer to our health and weight loss, so we run out and spend a lot of money, for what ends up being a tie rack.  But sometimes, a new “craze” can have real value.  Over the last few years, different types of fitness trackers, as well as the ability to record our food intake digitally, have become immensely popular. The question is, how effective is this in helping us reach our individual goals and improving our health?

Fitness trackers come in all different shapes, sizes and methods.  An estimated 19 million devices were in use in 2014, and that number is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years. In fact, a recent report by Juniper Research predicts that the use of activity trackers—also called fitness wear-ables—will triple by 2018.

Let’s take a look at the basic types of trackers and what they do.

Types of Trackers

Bands

A fitness band fits around your wrist like a bracelet. Bands that wrap around your wrist are by far the most common type of tracker today. They are small and relatively unobtrusive.  Many are made out of a rubberized material that are resistant to water and comfortable to wear.  If the band has a display it will be small, but it’s good for fitness tracking.

Most bands are fancy pedometers – they just keep track of the number of steps you take each day. However, a few include additional features like continuous heart rate tracking and wake up alarms.

Watches

The next most common type of tracker still wraps around your wrist, but looks much more like a digital watch than just a band of rubber. Since these trackers are larger, they are often capable of tracking a few more fitness metrics and not just steps. They can track your heart rate and perspiration and like any watch they can tell you what time it is.

Clothes

Some fitness tracking companies have woven the sensors needed to keep track of your health into fabric that you can wear these are known as smart textiles. The big benefit of a shirt wrapped around your upper body is that it can track a great many things: steps, heart rate, depth and frequency of breaths, perspiration and skin temperature. These fitness metrics are much harder to capture with a device that’s only around your wrist.  These are more expensive.

Ear Phones/Head Phones

If you already wear headphones while you work out then your next pair may be able to play music AND keep track of your fitness. Also called “hearables” these keep track of your heart rate and breathing rate along with other fitness metrics. In addition, the ear may be a more accurate location for a step counter, since it doesn’t swing around as much as your wrist does. All wrist-mounted pedometers have to know the difference between a “step” and a “non-step” motion of your arm, and this can lead to false positives (steps counted that aren’t really steps).

Phone Apps

There are literally hundreds of trackers that can be used as applications from cellular phones. Not every application works well for every phone, but they can track your steps, stairs and distance with fairly good accuracy.  With these apps as well as the other types of trackers mentioned, it pays to do your research on how accurate testing has shown them to be.

Is it worthwhile?

Older research might give us an insight as to whether or not a fitness tracking device is going to be helpful.  Many different studies have shown the positive effects of writing down your food.  Whereas weight loss experts may differ in what the best approach is in weight loss, they ALL agree about the value of food tracking. Any of you who have been on a comprehensive weight loss program (not a diet) know that writing down your food daily is almost a sure-fire method to success.  And that success isn’t just the number on the scale, it’s also helping you to be mindful of your eating and change bad habits into good ones.  Accountability in your exercise and activity will also breed these types of results.  Imagine that you set a goal of 10,000 steps per day for activity, or doing a certain distance daily at an aerobic pace.  At the end of each day, you will know quickly if you are meeting your goals or not and what changes you might have to make in order to attain your fitness goals.

The American Council of Exercise under the supervision Caitlin M. Stackpool, M.S., John P. Porcari, Ph.D., Richard Mikat, Ph.D., Cordial Gillette, Ph.D., and Carl Foster, Ph.D. ran a small study on popular fitness trackers and their accuracy.   For this study, five popular activity trackers were chosen: Nike+ Fuelband ($99-$149), Fitbit Ultra ($99), Jawbone UP ($99), BodyMedia FitCore ($99) and the Adidas MiCoach ($199).

Researchers recruited 10 healthy men and 10 healthy women, ages 18 to 44, to participate in the study, which was divided into two parts: one to measure energy expenditure and the other to measure the number of steps taken. The protocol was the same for both studies and they were conducted concurrently.

The first session included walking and running on a level treadmill. Each subject walked at a self-selected speed for 20 minutes and then rested for 10 minutes before running for 20 minutes at a self-selected pace. The second session was completed on an elliptical cross-trainer that worked both the arms and legs; participants completed 20 minutes of exercise at a self-selected intensity. After a break, subjects performed sports-related exercises. After completing both sessions, the values were recorded from each device and compared to an accompanying portable metabolic analyzer energy expenditure values and the number of steps taken.

When it comes to tracking steps, the activity trackers were pretty reliable, with the accuracy depending on the type of exercise being done. All five devices predicted within 10 percent accuracy the number of steps taken during treadmill walking and running, as well as during elliptical exercise.

Given the accuracy of fitness tackers, the convenience of wearing them, and the awareness they create, this “fitness craze” might just “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

I Have No Time to Exercise!

Alan Freishtat will be in the NY-NJ area from Jan.13- Jan. 16 and the Baltimore-Washington area from Jan. 17 – Jan. 19.  He will be available for consultations and group seminars during that time. For further information call 1-516-568-5027 or email alan@alanfitness.com

It was Sunday evening and I looked at my schedule for Monday and realized that the office had gotten very busy, so there wasn’t going to be time to do a formal exercise routine that Monday.  Some days, I can take some of my clients for outdoor powerwalks and at least I know I can get that aspect done.  So, I started planning my Monday.  Here I was going to be too busy to exercise but how could I take care of my health and get in enough activity to make a difference?

So, the first thing I decided was to get in an early morning walk. I woke up 15 minute earlier and walked very briskly 15 minutes there and 15 minutes back.  Now I had 30 minutes of aerobic exercise under my belt to start the day.  When I got home, I took 6 flights of stairs up to my apartment instead of using an elevator.  Now it was time to go to work.  I walked back down the stairs and a drove in.  I came into the office, put away my things and got to work. I checked my fitness tracker and saw that I had already accumulated 3,850 steps and 7 flights of stairs—a good way to start the day.

It’s 1 p.m. and time for a break and run an errand. 3 flights of stairs up and then afterwards back down.  Before my next client arrived, I got down on the floor and did 30 pushups and 50 sit ups, which took me 2 and a half minutes.  Now it was time for lunch and back to work.  After the next client, I walked to my bank to deposit a check and walked back, a total of 18 minutes.  When I got back to the office I spent 90 seconds doing bench dips and a few stretches made for people who sit at a desk much of their day. Then back to work!

My day finished at 6:30 p.m. I drove home, I ate supper, and took a short rest before walking to a lecture being given in my neighborhood.  Coming back from the lecture involved 6 flights of stair within the walking. The day was coming to a close.  I checked my fitness tracker and saw that over the course of this day, I had climbed 17 flights of stairs and had walked 8,500 steps over the course of the day and the first 30 minutes were definitely sustained within the aerobic pulse range.

I didn’t do a formal workout that Monday and I didn’t go to a gym.  I didn’t set aside an hour a half to work out.  I simply fit it into my day while accomplishing tasks I had to do anyway.  What did all this get me?

Let’s first look at the stairs I climbed throughout the day. Stair climbing requires significant energy and burns plenty of calories in a short period of time. Because of this, you can achieve the benefits of a longer, more moderate workout in a shorter amount of time. Stair climbing requires no special equipment and can be performed by most exercisers, regardless of their fitness level. During stair climbing, you use your leg muscles to pull yourself up. You’ll work your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors and core body.

A 150-pound person can burn 7 calories per minute when climbing at a moderate intensity, according to Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise in a “New York Times” interview.  So if you do steps intensely (2 stairs at a time) you can burn far more calories. Researchers also found that people who use stairs experienced reduced heart rate (a sign of good fitness), improved oxygen uptake and had increased their high-density lipoprotein, or “good” cholesterol, numbers.

Now how about the almost hour of accumulated walking that happened?  People who walk more than 30 minutes most days of the week get the following benefits:

• Increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness.
• Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes.
• Stronger bones and improved balance.
• Increased muscle strength and endurance.
• Reduced body fat.

If you are stuck at your desk most of the day, here are a few things you can do that are highly beneficial to your health and you can do them right in your office:

• Just stand up and sit down — no hands
• Shrug your shoulders — to release the neck and shoulders. Inhale deeply and shrug your shoulders, lifting them high up to your ears. Hold. Release and drop. Repeat three times.
• Shake your head slowly, as if saying yes and no.
• Loosen the hands with air circles. Clench both fists, stretching both hands out in front of you. Make circles in the air, first in one direction, to the count of ten. Then reverse the circles and shake out your hands.
• Release the upper body with a torso twist. Inhale and as you exhale, turn to the right and grab the back of your chair with your right hand, and grab the arm of the chair with your left. With eyes level, use your grasp on the chair to help twist your torso around as far to the back of the room as possible. Hold the twist and let your eyes continue the stretch — see how far around the room you can peer. Slowly come back to facing forward. Repeat on the other side.
• Stretch your back with a “big hug”. Hug your body, placing the right hand on your left shoulder and the left hand on your right shoulder. Breathe in and out, releasing the area between your shoulder blades.
• Sit up tall in your chair, or stand up. Stretch your arms overhead and interlock your fingers. Turn the palms to the ceiling as you lift your chin up, tilt your head back, and gaze up at the ceiling, too. Inhale, exhale, release.

All of this is just increased activity.  And the benefits are immense. Just by making a few changes, like parking your car a few blocks from your destination, not using elevators, getting off public transportation a stop or two before your intended stop, or walking from place to place into your day, you can reap enormous benefits to your physical and mental health.  This doesn’t preclude the need for formal exercise! We still have to schedule that into our day.  But when things don’t work out for you, and you are having “one of those days” and you just can’t fit the formal exercise into your day, being active will “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”

 

Too Much of a Good Thing

Alan Freishtat will be in the NY-NJ area from January 13th-16th and the Baltimore-Washington area from January 17th-January 19^th.  He will be available for consultations and group seminars during that time.  For further information call 1-516-568-5027 or email alan@alanfitness.com

Those of us involved in health, fitness and weight loss, can usually look forward to an increase in our client load after Chanukah.  After all, the over-consumption of high calorie foods like latkes and jelly donuts along with general over-consumption of food over the 8 days has to have a negative effect.  Besides having to get our good eating habits back on track, exercise will also play its part in helping restore our health and losing the extra weight we put on.  But how much is enough for our health, and what can actually cause harm?

Exercise is only good for you.  So it stands to reason, the more the better, right?  WRONG! Riva loved to exercise and was careful to exercise on a daily basis.  She had been an exerciser for 15 years.  But as she was entering her 40s, she made an appointment to come see me because many days, exercising was becoming a physical struggle for her and now on many days, she didn’t have the mental fortitude to even go out and do her routine.  When I closely examined her routine, I quickly discovered that Riva was over-exercising and not giving herself time to recover between both her aerobic workouts and also her resistance training.  There was no question we were going to have to overhaul her routine.

Riva loved both power walking and swimming. On days she power walked, she was doing an hour and 10 minutes and at a very fast pace.  In a typical week, there were 5 sessions of power walking.  But she was also swimming 4 days a week and that meant that on 2 days, she was doing both. Riva also was doing resistance training daily, sometimes using weights, sometimes bands, some days she did a Pilates class and every day, she did a comprehensive routine of abdominal exercises.  She also stretched after every routine that she was doing.  If exercise is so great, then why was Riva feeling so lousy?

People who exercise too much and don’t allow for enough recovery can get into trouble.  Chelsea Bush is a journalist that writes about fitness and weight loss.  She interviewed exercise experts and found there are 10 signs that you might be over-training:

1. Decreased performance

   A drop in your workout performance is one of the earliest signs of overload, according to Jini Cicero, a conditioning specialist based in Los Angeles, California. Altered performance levels are often more apparent in endurance activities such as running, swimming and cycling, she says.

2. Disinterest in exercise

   A significant decrease in motivation or enjoyment of the activity can be a major sign of burnout, Cicero says. This more often occurs in weight lifters, sprinters or soccer players who are driven by speed and power.

3. Mood changes

   Depression, anger, confusion, anxiety and irritability are common when your body is overstressed physically. Those same stress hormones you release when you’re emotionally stressed are also released when you’re physically overloaded, Cicero explains.

4. Delayed recovery time

   Persistent muscle soreness that lasts for hours or days after your workout is a sure sign you need more rest, according to Joseph Ciccone, a physical therapist in New York City.

5. Elevated resting heart rate

   “When you put more stress on the heart, it has to work a lot harder,” Ciccone says. An increase in your normal resting heart rate, say, from 50 beats per minute to 65 beats per minute, could indicate that you’re placing excessive stress on your body.

6. Fatigue

   Mental or physical grogginess is a hallmark sign of overtraining, says nutritional biochemist Shawn M., based on his research on over-stress patterns in professional athletes. “The knee-jerk reaction to sluggishness is to exercise for an energy boost, but it’s a catch-22,” he says. “Another workout might wake you up short-term, but you’ll be worse off later on.”

7. Insomnia

   Being in a state of overload often comes with disrupted sleep patterns, so instead of getting that much-needed rest, Talbott says, “you become restless and can’t fall asleep.”

8. Diminished appetite

   “A decrease in appetite can occur in the middle to later stages of over-training, and goes hand in hand with feelings of fatigue and lack of motivation,” says Corey Stenstrup, performance development trainer at IMG Academies. By slowing down bodily processes like metabolism, the body attempts to force a reduction in its workload.

9. Fat gain

   If you’ve lost weight but noticed an increase in body fat, you could be in the later stages of exercise overload. The body responds to prolonged stress by elevating levels of stress hormones, including cortisol, Stenstrup says. Over time this will lead to increased storage of adipose tissue, as well as inhibit steroid-like hormones that normally help increase muscle. A decrease in muscle mass can cause you to shed a few pounds, but this isn’t a good thing since it means your body is less efficient at burning fat.

10. Weakened immune system

    Don’t try to push through your exercise Talbott warns, “or you’ll keep sliding down—to a weakened immune system, inflammation, and outright injury.” Over-training can take weeks, even months, to recover from, and can put your health at risk. Chronic inflammation, for example, has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Nurture your body and give it a much-deserved break when it needs to rest after that tough workout.

Recovery is Important

If we examine the requirements for exercising for good health, we see that we should be doing aerobics (walking, jogging, swimming, biking, elliptical machines or any exercise that raises your heart rate) most days of the week for at least 30-40 minutes at a moderate intensity.  If you work out intensely, you can do less.  And as long as you have a day in between, you won’t get into trouble. But if you try to do multiple workouts in the same day, your body might not be able to recover properly.

When it comes to doing resistance training, the type of exercise that builds muscle, we recommend a 48 hour recovery.  People at a higher level of fitness can get away with 24 hours but less than 24 hours will not bring a productive workout, will leave your muscles sore for long periods of time and will definitely fatigue your body.

Stretching should be done daily. Holding each stretch for up to 30-35 seconds is acceptable, but never stretch on cold muscles. Overstretching can bring muscle soreness and can even cause strains and sprains in your joints.

Riva and I sat a couple times and we decided to take a week off where she only stretched daily.  Afterwards we decided to alternate her power walks and her swims.  I cut her walks down by 10 minutes.  We also developed two routines that did not overlap in working different muscle groups.  She was able to do each of them every other day and still have great results.  After 3 weeks on the new routine, she began getting her motivation back to work out, she stopped getting small colds and overall, she felt less fatigued and well.  She understood that more isn’t always better and the recovery is an integral part of having a productive exercise routine.

You are the one who needs to be responsible for your own habits of eating and exercising.  Make sure you have enough recovery time between your exercise sessions. Exercising enough for our health–and not too much– will “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”

A New Year, A New Time for Inspiration!

As we approach Elul, the last month of the Jewish calendar, and as we get closer to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it is the time of year for reflection on the past and a look to the future. We will now be praying for both forgiveness and for achieving our potential for the year to come. Just as we can’t repent without looking back at the past and realizing and recalling mistakes, we can’t make the changes necessary for a healthier, and in turn, happier year if we can’t look back and find the various points to fix.

Over the past years, I have had the privilege of helping people who have decided they wanted to change their lives. I personally have been very inspired by their hard work and dedication. I share this with you so you can see that it can be done! Keep in mind that not one of these people turned their lives around over night. It began with small but consistent steps that eventually turned into a new existence. Everyone can make a small change here and there in order to change their quality of life and overall health for the better. Read about a few of these people and be inspired!

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Y. is a 48 year old mother who has to travel quite a distance to see me. She started her journey to good health with our program. Although she lost an amazing 20 kilo, there was more work to be done in order to reach the range of healthy weight. Now she has become a daily exerciser. Her husband got a one-time bonus from his job and offered to buy her a gift. She asked for the only thing that she really wanted—to begin Personal Training. Y. has now lost 48 kilo (105 pounds). Y. was an insulin dependent Type 2 diabetic and is now completely off insulin and any other medications. She is also coping with some of her life’s stresses much better.

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A.B. is a 23 year old Yeshiva Bachur.  When his mother called me 8 months ago, she was very frustrated.  Her son was carrying a lot of weight—his Body Mass Index was close to a whopping 44. Yet what frustrated A.B.’s mother most was that A.B. had been to a dietician a year earlier, lost 40 kilo and gained it ALL back.  We gave A.B. a food program where he wouldn’t be hungry, but would still lose weight. He also began daily walks, and as the weeks went on we added a little bit of muscle building exercises, too.  Where A.B.’s previous attempt at weight loss had not addressed behaviors and habits, our program helped him deal with these challenges. Currently A.B. has lost 22 kilo and understands that when you lose too much too fast it’s not a good thing.  Exercise, proper diet and behavioral changes are doing wonders for A.B and he is well on his way to doubling what he has lost so far.

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5 months ago, D.Z. (61 years old) went to see her doctor and was told that she would have to use multiple medications if she didn’t tend to the underlying causes of her high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, and also lose some weight.  D.Z. began our 10 Weeks to Health program, combine that with personal training, hoping to see results that would help improve her health.  2 weeks ago, D.Z. went in for another blood test: her sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure are all so significantly improved that the doctor told her—NO MEDICATION!

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In most aspects of life, taking giant steps in any direction generally is not a long-lasting way to achieve any goal. On the other hand, using baby steps, as did the people you just read about, and doing things incrementally usually brings a better long-term and permanent result. When it comes to weight loss, exercise and eating a healthy diet, this is always true. We need to look back and isolate the causes of bad health, and one at a time, start making changes, that over time will bring us to improved health and ultimately, good health.
Look back at your health habits and choose one or two aspects that need improvement. Start slowly. Perhaps you can get an additional half hour of sleep at night. Cut out late night eating. Substitute water for sugary or diet drinks. Increase vegetables and fruits and in your diet and cut back on cakes and junk food. And perhaps most of all, leave that car at home and start walking from place to place and even schedule a walk daily, because that will help you as much as anything else. Step by step, you can make all of these changes over time.
This is the season where we strive to change ourselves for the better. Don’t leave your health out of the equation! And start now—that way you can manage the coming weeks and not make the mistake of waiting until after all of the holidays are over in order to get started. Avoid further damage by making the changes NOW. Taking small steps, one at a time, to improve your health and well-being over the long term will “add hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.”

The Silent Killer

Dovid is a 40 year old who hasn’t felt well for the last year.  Other than not “feeling right”, he had no other symptoms.  Dovid was overweight with a BMI of 28.5 and didn’t get a lot of exercise or activity.  His diet was very “western”, meaning too high in saturated and trans-fats and with much too much salt and sugar.  He had been to his physician the previous week and the doctor spoke to him about taking medications.  Dovid did some research and saw that most blood pressure medications had multiple side-effects and was looking for a possible alternative. After taking the pertinent information for a first visit, I checked his blood pressure which was high.  His blood work showed no other obvious health problems.

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension is known as the silent killer.  That is because it takes a while for symptoms to become present—usually years.  About 70 million American adults (29%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 out of every 3 adults.

Only about half (52%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control. Nearly 1 out of 3 American adults has pre-hypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal, but not yet in the high blood pressure range. High blood pressure costs the United States $46 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work.

What is Blood Pressure?

Your heart is a fist sized muscle in the middle of your chest.  It contracts and releases about 100,000 times a day and it pushes 7000 liters (1,850 gallons) of blood through your arteries. After that, the blood returns through the veins and this process repeats itself all day everyday as long as we are alive.  As the blood flows through our blood vessels, there is pressure against the arterial walls—that is the blood pressure we are talking about.

When the doctor checks your blood pressure, he always gives you two numbers.  We call these systolic and diastolic. The top number, or systolic, measures the pressure against the arterial wall when the heart is contracting. The diastolic or bottom number tells us what the pressure is when the heart is in the release phase.  The average blood pressure is 120/80.  But everyone is a little different and sometimes the time of day can make a difference too.  But until age 60, we want to stay as close to those numbers as we can.  After age 60, a higher number, even 130/90 is now called acceptable.  But in general, 120/80 or less is the target.

Dangers of High Blood Pressure

Having high blood pressure carries many potential health risks.  They include:

• Damage to the heart and coronary arteries
• Heart attack
• Heart disease
• Congestive heart failure
• Aortic dissection
• Atherosclerosis (fatty buildups in the arteries that cause them to harden)
• Stroke
• Kidney damage
• Vision loss
• Memory loss
• Fluid in the lungs
• Angina
• Peripheral artery disease

THESE ARE RESULTS OF HYPERTENTION.  These are not symptoms.  That is why it is called the silent killer!  When you already have these issues, it is very late in the game. What causes high blood pressure and what can we do to prevent it?  Here are some of the causes of high blood pressure:

• Smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Lack of physical activity
• Too much salt and sodium in the diet
• Too much alcohol consumption
• Stress (Research clearly shows that the connection between stress and hypertension is very pronounced.)
• Older age
• Genetics
• Family history of high blood pressure
• Chronic kidney disease
• Adrenal and thyroid disorders

How to Prevent High Blood Pressure

• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight can make you two to six times more likely to develop high blood pressure than if you are at your desirable weight. Even small amounts of weight loss can make a big difference in helping to prevent and treat high blood pressure.
• Reduce salt intake: Often, when people with high blood pressure cut back on salt, their blood pressure falls. Cutting back on salt also prevents blood pressure from rising. Most of the sodium we consume comes from processed foods and canned foods. Also, beware of soy sauce, pickled products, and most cheeses.
• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all: Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. To help prevent high blood pressure, limit your alcohol intake.
• Reduce stress: Stress can make blood pressure go up, and over time may contribute to high blood pressure. There are many steps you can take to reduce your stress. See a wellness or life coach to get some good tips.
• Get regular exercise: People who are physically active have a lower risk of getting high blood pressure — 20% to 50% lower — than people who are not active. You don’t have to be a marathon runner to benefit from physical activity. Even light activities, if done daily, can help lower your risk. Even a daily moderate walk of 20-30 minutes is very helpful. Stretching helps blood flow throughout your body.  You should do weights, however if you already have high blood pressure, start with light weights only. As your blood pressure goes down, you can begin to use heavier weights or more resistance in your muscle building exercises.

Dovid met with one of our dieticians to create a sensible eating plan.  He began to eat more foods that keep blood pressure lower, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy, monounsaturated fats.  He cut his consumption of salt as well as his overall calories.  Dovid began walking briskly for 30 minutes every day.  The walks had a great physiological benefit, but it was also part of a stress management program that we put into place so Dovid could learn how to handle the day to day stresses of life better.  In the end, he was able to avoid taking medications and after two months, his blood pressure returned to acceptable levels.  Dovid is medication free—he feels great! Maintaining healthy blood pressure will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

Exercise is Medicine! (Part III)

Last week’s column focused on the benefits of exercise vis-à-vis high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cancer. This third and final segment of Exercise is Medicine! will discuss Metabolic Syndrome, lower back pain and osteoporosis.

Exercising is very helpful in weight reduction and in preventing weight gain. It is also beneficial in maintaining a healthy weight after a successful weight loss program.  Therefore, the strongest predictor of successful, permanent weight loss is a well-rounded exercise program.

 

Metabolic Syndrome

Being overweight is known to bring on many health-related complications including Metabolic Syndrome, otherwise known as Syndrome X.  Syndrome X has been called the “deadly quartet” as well as “insulin resistance syndrome”, and is responsible for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Metabolic Syndrome is comprised of a perilous collection of risk factors, or cluster of metabolic disorders which, individually or as a group, promote the development of diabetes and atherosclerosis.  The root causes of this syndrome are overweight/obesity, physical inactivity and genetic factors.  Also here, exercise, especially when you can begin to exercise intensely, EVEN WITHOUT WEIGHT LOSS will begin to the process of turning Metabolic Syndrome around and starting to lower (and eventually eliminate) the assortment of drugs you would need to be taking.  Of course if you do lose weight along with the exercise, you will get even better results.

 

Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain (LBP) levies a heavy toll upon men and women alike. Roughly 70% of all people will experience one bout of lower back pain in their lifetime, with many experiencing repeated bouts or even chronic back pain.  Although we are all tempted to take anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxants, exercise can both prevent, help or completely cure LBP. LBP typically is located in the lumbar region of the spine, with L4 and L5 being the most commonplace.  Undoubtedly, you have probably heard of slipped, herniated, shattered, protruding and crushed disks – all of which are manifestations of LBP. What brings on these conditions, and how can they be corrected, and possibly even prevented, in the first place?

The main causes of LBP are weak abdominal muscles, tight hamstring muscles, poor posture and stress.  Many times, LBP is the result of a biomechanical dysfunction resulting from flat feet, and often can be corrected with a pair of good, functional orthotics.

Also, a simple thing like a worn-out pair of shoes can bring on back discomfort.  Prevention of LBP includes a well-balanced exercise program which encompasses flexibility training (stretching) and abdominal strengthening.  And aerobic exercise is known, among its many benefits, to be a great stress-reducer. Being overweight is also a risk factor, as is smoking.

Many years ago, the common approach to treating LBP was to prescribe bedrest.  Strong evidence now indicates that this treatment is ineffective.  Studies have shown that bedrest of more than 2-4 days can cause muscles to begin to weaken, and can actually delay recovery.  The current thinking is that a person with LBP should be physically active.  Walking, even if it is somewhat painful, is considered essential. 

 

Osteoporosis

It’s silent, it’s progressive and it can be disabling.  200 million people worldwide have it.  Women develop it four times as often as men do.  And the older you are, the greater the risk of developing it.  We’re talking about osteoporosis.

Bone is a complex living tissue.  It provides structural support for muscles, protects vital organs and stores calcium which is essential for bone density and strength.  Bone is constantly “remodeling”, meaning that old bone is broken down and new bone is deposited.  This is a constant and ongoing process.  At about age 45-50, more old bone is broken down than is replaced.  This process is accelerated in menopausal women as they lose the protection that estrogen had given them previously. The earlier a woman experiences menopause, the greater the risk of osteoporosis. The best strategy for preventing osteoporosis is to build strong bones, especially before the age of 35. This will reduce bone loss later in life.

Both strength training (weights) and weight-bearing aerobic exercise (brisk walking, jogging, skipping rope or running) are essential to prevent osteoporosis and help reduce further bone loss in those who already have the disease.  The strength training is essential for the bones in the upper body while the weight-bearing exercises are necessary for the bones in the lower extremities.  Perhaps even more important is that someone who exercises will have better balance which keeps you from falling and possible sustaining a fracture and better strength to catch yourself and break a fall thus reducing the risk of breaks or bruises.

 

In Conclusion

We haven’t yet found the magic pill that our society is forever seeking.   But the closest thing we have to it is a good, well-rounded exercise program.  Whether it is to prevent, cure or improve any of the many diseases and illnesses to which we are all subject, or to reduce our stress and feel better about life, exercise is a MUST for everyone, no matter your age, gender or weight.  Choose and exercise that you like and have fun doing it.  For many people, exercising with friends or in a group setting can be more enjoyable than doing it on your own.  But the important thing is to get started both to prevent disease and to cure it.  Have your doctor include exercise in his/her prescription for almost anything that may bother you.  Take the important mitzvah of “V’nishmartem me’od l’nafshoseichem” seriously by exercising regularly.  Exercising on a steady basis will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

Exercise is Medicine! (Part II)

Last week’s column examined the role that exercise can play in reducing and possibly eliminating the need for statins and blood pressure medication. We also discussed the positive effects of exercise for diabetics. This week, we will discuss the benefits of exercise vis-à-vis high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cancer.

 

High Blood Pressure

High Blood pressure, or hypertension, is known as the “silent killer” since the symptoms sometimes do not appear until it is too late.  Hypertension – a very treatable condition – is prevalent in more than 20 % of the population. Another significant number of people have what is referred to as “high normal” or “borderline” blood pressure – that is, their readings fall slightly above the normal range and as such, they are now at risk for hypertension.

Drugs given for high blood pressure can have multiple side effects and some of them can be very pronounced.  Depending upon which drugs you are taking, you may experience any of the following:

• Asthma symptoms
• Cold hands and feet
• Depression
• Insomnia and sleep problems
• A dry, hacking cough that doesn’t go away.
• Skin rash and a loss of taste
• Dizziness
• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Irregular or very rapid heartbeat (palpitations)
• Swollen ankles
• Fast heart rate

Exercise can prevent or cure high blood pressure. An inactive person has a 20-50% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than an active person.  This statistic is based on studies performed at both Harvard University and the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research.  Even without weight loss, aerobic exercise can lower blood pressure by 10 points or more.  And one of the great things about exercising to reduce blood pressure is that one usually starts seeing results after only a few short weeks of starting a program.  An added bonus: as exercisers also tend to lose weight and concentrate on diet, results can go far beyond the 10 points mentioned above.

 

 High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all animal products.  The human body makes cholesterol in the liver and absorbs some of it through the diet.  It is essential for the body and is used to produce hormones, form bile acids for digestion of fats and to build cell membranes.  However, too much cholesterol in the blood can spell trouble in the form of increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Approximately 30% of Americans have high cholesterol.  Although Statin drugs are being prescribed today like candy is given out, they have multiple side effects and we are still NOT 100% SURE as to how effective they are in avoiding heart attacks.  Yes they lower your cholesterol, but they also can make you very uncomfortable with muscle pain, they can negatively affect your memory and they may raise your risk of diabetes.  So before you agree to take them, pay attention to the following:  In a study at Stanford University, male and female runners were found to have higher HDL levels than sedentary controls in the study.  Total cholesterol levels, LDL, and triglycerides were all found to be lower than the sedentary group.  And the greater distance and time the runners ran, the better their results.  As with blood pressure, the results of exercising usually included some weight loss as well, contributing even more to overall improvement.  In both of these cases, cholesterol, blood pressure AND the risk of cardiovascular disease were all lowered substantially with exercise.

Steps you can take which will usually lower your overall cholesterol, lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise your HDL (good cholesterol) include:

•  exercising
• losing weight
• eliminating smoking
• moderating alcohol consumption
• eating a healthful diet which includes fruits and vegetables

Even those with hereditary factors can see improvement by adopting the practices listed above.

 

Cancer

Research has shown that the lifetime risk for developing cancer is 45% in men and 39% in women.  However, according to the American Cancer Society, up to 2/3 of cancers are preventable.  There is also good news on the cancer treatment front.  In the 1930’s, fewer than one in five people were alive after five years of treatment for cancer, but today, more than 50% of  people getting treatment live five years or more afterwards, and these numbers are expected to continue to improve.

What exactly is cancer? All cancers can be characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. If the spread is not controlled, it can, G-d forbid, be fatal, as vital passageways are blocked and the body’s oxygen and nutrient supplies are diverted to support the rapidly- spreading cancer.  Normally, our body cells reproduce and divide in an orderly manner.  In that way, old cells are replaced and injured cells are repaired.  However, some cells undergo abnormal changes because of oxidants, radiation, viruses, hormones, immune conditions and inherited mutations.  It is these abnormal cells that grow into masses called tumors.  These tumors can be benign or cancerous.

Interesting to note is that it took the American Heart Association a long time to identify inactivity as a risk factor for heart disease. However, in 1996, the American Cancer Society added regular physical activity to their list of preventive measures.  Evidence continues to mount which strongly supports the connection between the development of cancer and inactivity.  According to Dr. I-Minn Lee of the Harvard School of Public Health, “Our findings now suggest that increased physical activity may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, especially colon cancer.”  More current research is showing beyond a doubt that:

• Physical activity may lower the risk of cancer by preventing obesity, reducing inflammation and hormone levels, and improving insulin resistance and immune system function.
• Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of several types of cancers, including breast cancer and colon cancer.

Although, we are speaking here of prevention and not curing cancer, cancer experts do encourage moderate exercise during treatment.

 Next week, we will look at osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome and lower pack pain.