25 Reasons You Should Be Exercising

I read an article several months back that just summed it all up for me.  It listed the 25 most significant health benefits of exercise.  I just loved it and wanted to make a poster out of it for my clients to pin on their walls as a daily reminder.  Well, I didn’t get the poster made but I am going to “post it” on my blog.

Here are 25 reasons you should be exercising:

1. Decreased cardiovascular disease

2. Better management and prevention of diabetes

3. Improved insulin sensitivity

4. Improved glucose metabolism

5. Reduction in blood pressure/hypertension

6. Improved blood triglycerides

7. Decreased total cholesterol

8. Improved HDL (good cholesterol)

9. Lessens the risk of having a stroke

10. Lower incidence of breast cancer

11. Lower incidence of colon cancer

12. Lower incidence of multiple myeloma cancers

13. Improved bone mineral density-decreasing the risk of developing osteoporosis

14. Improved musculoskeletal health

15. Improved sarcopenia (age-related losss of muscle mass and strength)

16. Improved body composition (lean weight vs. fat weight)

17. Decreased risk of developing obesity

18. Increased function and mobility for arthritis sufferers

19. Reduction in stress (my favorite)

20. Enhanced Mood

21. Enhanced Self Esteem

22. Reduced levels of depression

23. Decreased levels of anxiety

24. Decreased injury rate for weekend warriors (weekend-only, hard core exercisers)

25.  Decreased incidence of other cancers

Do you need another reason?  It feels good, your body deserves it and we all need it.

Keep moving that mass of yours-

Amy

Serve It Up!

One of the hardest things I believe as a fitness professional is teaching my clients about proper nutrition habits.  After all, it accounts for at least half of your success rate when it comes to losing weight, plus by making just a few changes in your dietary habits you can see quick results.  Better yet, combine a few nutritional strategies along with a proper fitness program built just for you and voila- even better results.

So how about starting with getting to know a proper serving size?  Did you know that the average pasta serving in a restaurant is close to (gulp) 6 servings?  Yikes, or that the Vitamin waters and other sports drinks I see many a client drinking down contain 2.5 servings.  Double the yikes on that one!

It is so important that consumers get used to reading the food labels and understand what one portion is supposed to be, and even more important know what an average serving size of common food groups are.  Here is a list you can use to serve up your next meal or snack:

ONE SERVING	LOOKS LIKE
1 cup cereal flakes	Fist
1 pancake	Compact disc
½ cup cooked rice or pasta	½ baseball
¼ cup raisins	Large egg
1 baked potato	Fist
1 cup salad greens	Baseball
½ cup fresh fruit	½ baseball
1 ½ ounces of cheese	4 stacked dice (one cheese stick)
1 teaspoon of butter	1 dice
3 ounces of meat, fish, poultry	Deck of cards
3 ounces of cooked fish	Checkbook
2 tablespoons of peanut butter	Table tennis ball

 

*Source IDEA Fitness Journal, June 2008

 

 

 

OPTIMAL NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES

The simple process of eating food should not be overwhelming or confusing- everyone has the right to know the essentials to building an optimal balanced diet that provides their bodies with optimal nutrition. With all the pills, potions and advice available it is easy for the consumer to get lost in translation when it comes to feeding their face.

So how do you make nutrition optimal for you? By understanding the basic concept of nutritional feedings and changing the way you fuel your machine.

Nutritional feedings provide us with life-sustaining substances found in food, that work together to supply the body with energy to perform all of its physiological functions. Without proper fuel the body is unable to work efficiently, nor effectively and disease has more potential to appear. Proper fuel leaves the body with the right amounts of vitamins, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, protein and fat- all of which are important to wellness of human function. We all need to eat enough to support our activities of work, play and exercise, but be careful not to upset the delicate balance of homeostasis (basal metabolic rate) by eating too little or too much. 

The following are simple strategies that you should include in your meal planning, food preparation and overall healthy diet. By including several or all of these options you will decrease your risk of developing disease, cut down your risk of obesity and lose weight. Here’s a little tidbit for you to chew on (no pun intended): If you snack on produce three times a day instead of soda and chips you can expect to lose about 1 pound per week!

• Eat and breathe the following little morsels:
• Eat regular snacks and meals throughout the day; about every 2.5-4 hours. About 3 meals and 2-3 snacks
• Eat protein with every meal or snack to improve satiety of meal
• Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack
• Eat foods with fiber (whole grains, vegetables, fruit, legumes- beans, peas, lentils)
• Keep saturated fat intake to <10% of total calories and avoid all sources of trans/hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated fats <1% of fat intake
• Eat lower fat foods and make smart substitutes (2% milk to 1% or skim, non-fat yogurt instead of whole fat)
• Eat just until comfortable
• Eat a small snack just before lunch and dinner to reduce the tendency to overeat
• Limit refined foods- white bread and cereals, soda, sweets and alcohol
• Limit alcohol and caffeine intake
• Limit sodium containing, cured and smoked products
• Reduce or eliminate processed foods which contain additives, preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners
• Eat a variety of foods every day. GOAL- try not to eat the same foods in a 3 day period
• Eat more wholesome, natural foods, and buy organic whenever possible.

 

Choose a few items from our grocery list of tips or sink your teeth into all of the above. Whether your goal is to lose weight, develop better eating habits or just become more in tune to your wellness then these nutritional strategies will do the trick. Remember the old homage- you are what you eat (eat crap, be crap, eat well, be well). Be mindful, be careful and be healthful when you open your mouth. It is the gas tank to your optimal health. 

In health,

Amy Bomar, BS, CPT

Gone Fishin’

I’ve been out of town with the kids enjoying some R n R and plain just goofing off.  It’s been delightful, much needed, but I’m ready to bring back the fury of fitness to everyone.  Just a thought that inspired me today that I wanted to leave for all of you to think about.

A friend mentioned this to me today and I just resonated with it.  If all of our clients would take their appointments with their trainers as seriously they do their hair, nail, dental and doctor’s appointments we would have it made and the world would be healthier for it.

You can doll up your external package all you want, but you still have to keep that engine fired up with movement and regular workouts.  So how about it all you clients out there?  What do you say about giving it a shot?  Treat your training appointment time just like you would that amazing massage appointment you sometimes treat yourself to.  You’ll feel better, see better results and develop some lifelong good feeling habits to boot.  Make your health and fitness a priority.

Dreamily,

Amy