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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Easy Acai Smoothie Bowl (Video)
One of the smoothies that I make most often is an acai bowl smoothie. So when I realized I really only had one recipe for an acai bowl here on the blog, from four years ago, I knew I wanted to add one just in time for summer! My original How-to Make an Acai Bowl recipe post is here. And it contains a ton of great tips and anecdotes on choosing acai packs and blending a bowl. But today, I share my current go-to recipe. I will be making this more than a few times this summer! Hope you love it as much as I do..Read more »
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The 10 Rules of Successful Exercise
We’re big believers in supporting everyone’s different needs for different types of exercise. Maybe you’re a marathon runner. That’s great! Maybe you’re going to run your first mile outside today. That’s great, too! It doesn’t matter what you do or your skill level as long as you’re pushing yourself to be the healthy best you can be.
Finding time to work out can sometimes feel like a luxury, so we need to make our exercise count. Here are the ten most important rules for successful exercise:
You might not need to follow all ten rules. And not all rules apply to all training regimens. That’s fine. But in my experience, both personally and as a coach, the people who get the most out of their workouts adhere to most of these rules.
1. DO THE THING YOU LOVE
Some fitness people like to talk tough. They’ll say things like “pain is weakness leaving the body” or “if you’re enjoying yourself, you’re not training.” I get where they’re coming from because hitting the truly elite levels of performance does require enduring pain and sacrifice and unpleasantness and, frankly, momentary bouts of abject misery. But even the triathletes subjecting themselves to crippling pain do so out of love.
The biggest benefit to doing something you love for exercise is that you’ll actually do it. There’s not a ton of research on the matter, but what little exists suggests that “forced exercise” isn’t even as helpful as “voluntary exercise.” In mice with colitis, for example, forced treadmill running exacerbates intestinal inflammation enough to kill the mice, while voluntary running attenuates it and keeps them alive. And in a rodent model of Alzheimer’s disease, voluntary exercise was superior to forced exercise at reducing plaque deposition and memory impairment. That’s pretty huge, I’d say.
2. GET A WORKOUT BUDDY (OR BUDDIES)
You’re not just toughing it out on your own anymore. And it goes beyond having a spotter. Find a tribe of likeminded individuals to push each other, offer encouragement, suffer and succeed together. Research confirms the benefits of this kind of camaraderie in the gym:
- Working out in a group boosts the stress reduction we get from exercise.
- Even working out in the presence of another person reduces the perceived effort of the exercise.
- Train with someone who’s stronger/faster/fitter. If you think your workout partner is doing better than you, you’ll work harder.
- Exercising with a member of the opposite sex has been shown to also reduce perceived exertion.
3. WORK OUT OUTSIDE
Taking in a sunset snuggled up with your sweetheart is amazing. Going camping for a half week really recharges your body and soul (and resets your circadian rhythms). Simply being in green space has health benefits. But we’re not only meant to passively and calmly experience the great outdoors on a regular (as close to constant) basis. We should be physically engaging with them, propelling our bodies through three dimensional space at high speeds while immersed in fresh air and unfiltered sunlight.
Exercising outdoors makes exercise more enjoyable. The more enjoyable it is, the more likely we are to do it. There are also psychological benefits, according to a 2011 meta-analysis. Outdoor workouts resulted in greater revitalization, increased energy, and more positive engagement with the activities, along with less depression, anger, confusion and tension. I mean, the love of exercise in an outdoor setting even smashes the divisions between species and phyla. If a slug will do it, you have no excuses.
Oh, and if you need the boost, the sunlight will increase testosterone levels via vitamin D production. That’s always nice and helpful for workout recovery.
4. INCORPORATE PLAY TO MAKE THE WORKOUTS FUN
One surefire way to make exercise more enjoyable — and more sustainable — is to play. Instead of pounding out an hour on the stationary bike, go mountain biking. Instead of doing box jumps, play leapfrog with a friend (or do leapfrog burpees). Instead of lifting weights, lift oddly shaped objects or oddly shaped people. Instead of running aimlessly, go play sports where you run to get places and catch balls and make baskets (might I recommend Ultimate?).
Or you could overhaul your entire workout program and base the whole thing on play from the ground up. If this sounds interesting, you’ll want to attend a Primal Playout hosted by Darryl Edwards. The guy lives for play and has built up an impressive physique and a lot of strength and power and athleticism simply by having fun. Follow his Twitter and if he’s coming to a town near you, go see him (he’s also a regular presenter at PrimalCon, so check that out too).
READ MORE > 7 KID-INSPIRED ACTIVITIES THAT ARE LEGIT WORKOUTS
By framing your workouts as a “fun activity,” they become their own reward and you’re less likely to reward yourself with junk food afterwards. Oh, and fun is really fun.
5. MAKE YOUR WORKOUT MEANINGFUL AND PURPOSE-DRIVEN
A big problem that prevents people from working out is that it all feels so meaningless. Let’s face it: going to the gym to lift weights just so you can put them back down or walking on a treadmill for an hour without going anywhere feels pointless on some base level. It wasn’t always this way, though. Humans used to perform physically demanding tasks on a regular basis to live, eat and thrive. It wasn’t “exercise” or a “workout,” but it made us fit, strong and fast just the same.
Most of us can’t create a life where regular exercise is a prerequisite for survival (nor would we want to), but we can inject meaning and purpose into our movements. Simple things like working with your hands and building useful things, helping friends move, cleaning up a park or nature area, commuting to work on bike or on foot, or doing physical labor can give you a great workout and produce tangible and useful results. Those probably aren’t enough to get you as fit as you’d be lifting barbells or running sprints, but you can do both and still retain the sense of meaning.
6. FIND FLOW
Have you ever had a workout that feels effortless until it’s over, at which point you collapse under the weight of suddenly realized exertion? That’s flow. When he scored 13 points in 33 seconds, Tracy McGrady was deep in the flow state (or “the zone”). According to the father of flow research, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, we must engage in doable but difficult challenges that tap into our individual curiosities and interests while giving immediate feedback.
Luckily, an engaging workout tends to promote the flow state fairly easily as long as you’re looking for it. Try eliminating distractions that pull your attention from the task. Instead of running on a flat track, for example, go running on a trail that forces you to dodge rocks, jump roots and pay close attention to where your feet go; the time will fly by and you’ll probably go longer than you would have on the track.
7. SAVOR HOW EXERCISE MAKES YOU FEEL
Exercise is psychedelic. It expands and alters consciousness. It’s an escape from the drudgery of real life, of bills and deadlines and stress and neurotic thought-loops. It’s a narcotic, literally causing your brain to produce endogenous opioids and cannabinoids that get you high.
Good workouts reveal the extremes of subjective human experience. We get butterflies before a race or a particularly grueling sprint and feel the real anxiety of knowing you’re about to push your body to its limit. We know the joy of victory (even if it’s against your last workout’s self) and the crushing dejection of defeat. The ups, the downs, the all-arounds.
A good workout relaxes you. Food tastes better. The sunset’s prettier. Work stress is somehow less pressing. You’re confident after a workout. “Yeah, I just lifted that.” You feel sexier, too, because you’ve proven to yourself and the world that you know how to use and inhabit your body.
Even the unpleasant aspects of exercise — the sweat sting, the burn of the quads, the intense mental effort required to lift this weight or run that hill — should be savored. Drawing away from the pain is pointless; it’s there. By meeting it head-on, by enjoying it, we co-opt it for our own devices.
8. RELEASE YOUR ATTACHMENT TO THE OUTCOME
As a high-level endurance athlete, I was obsessed with the outcome. If I didn’t have the outcome – the finish line – I couldn’t have faced all the grueling torture required of elite endurance athletes.
But that’s no way to live. Detaching myself from the outcome and focusing on the journey to wherever it is I’m going was a game changer for my health, my happiness and ultimately my fitness. When you can immerse yourself in the journey, in the exercise itself as you’re doing it, great stuff happens. You hit the flow state more easily. You find yourself having fun again when you work out. You discover that training can be an end in itself, and your workouts are reinvigorated and more fruitful.
Keep your goals, of course. Just don’t forget to savor the journey and don’t let yourself fall to pieces in despair if the outcome differs from your expectations.
9. DECIDE IF YOU’RE TRAINING OR JUST EXERCISING
Which is it: training or exercising? Are you interested in being active, moving your body, getting generally fitter and stronger, staying fit, staying strong without adhering to any specific performance goals? Then you’re exercising. You have goals. They’re just more diffuse, like “get healthier.”
Or maybe you have a specific performance goal, like “deadlift 500 pounds” or “compete in Master’s marathon and actually compete.” Then you’re probably going to be training, which means a training program consisting of progression, regimentation, and maybe periodization. Training is stricter.
They’re both great, depending on your goals, but exercising when you should be training or training when all you really need is to exercise can make you miserable and render your workouts ineffective and meandering. So make a decision so you can achieve your goals.
My goal nowadays is to play until I’m old, so I train to maintain my fitness, my muscle mass, the strength of my connective tissue and my bone mineral density enough that I’m able to go out and have fun every single day.
10. TRY SOMETHING NEW
Humans are novelty seekers. It’s kind of what drove us to walk the entire globe, explore new surroundings, test our limits and become the apex predators on this planet. That hardwiring affects our relationship with everything- the media we consume, the games we play, the hobbies we spend time on, the relationships we forge and the exercises we do.
One way trying a new workout or exercise can help is by boosting enthusiasm. If you’re bored with your workout, you’re bored. You’re going through the motions. You’re doing the minimum and getting minimal results. If you’re excited about what you’re doing in the gym, on the track or on the trail, you’ll be more into it, and you’ll get more out of it. Novelty seekers often feel bad about their desire for something new; they shouldn’t. They should indulge it, especially when it comes to movement.
And when it comes to strength training, it might even be more effective to change up the exercises you do than simply increase the intensity (weight, volume, etc). In a recent study, researchers tested the effects of exercise variation in both beginning strength trainees and early advanced trainees. Compared to varying the intensity, varying the exercises yielded significant strength and hypertrophy gains in both groups. In the words of the lead researcher, changing up the exercises you do in the gym “seems to produce a more complete muscle activation hypertrophying all of the heads of multi-pennate muscles.”
As I said earlier, you don’t have to do everything on this list. But it wouldn’t hurt…
Originally posted on Mark’s Daily Apple. Which is your favorite tip? Let us know in the comments below!
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Do You Need to Eat ‘Boring’ to Lose Weight?
Flash back to a couple years ago when I worked with a trainer for the first time. After three months, I saw a couple pounds of drop. Yes! Then, I plateaued. The scale went back up and wouldn’t slide back down. But even more important, I didn’t notice my body firming up. Where was the muscle? Where were the results? To not see or feel changes was utterly maddening after all the work and money I was putting in.
I was confused and frustrated so I asked my trainer: “Heeeeeey, why isn’t this working?” She word for word told me: “Look, you need to eat boring to lose weight.” You should’ve seen my face. I love food so I was crushed and defeated when she told me that if I wanted to slim down, I’d need to “eat boring.” What the heck did that even mean? My mind started wandering to days filled with the same foods, all day, for the rest of my days. I sat at my desk later that day and imagined some of the most diet-centric boring foods I could think of: steel-cut oats, rice cakes, bananas, grilled chicken, baby carrots and plain cottage cheese. Rinse and repeat. I went to a dark place because that was not the reality I was ready to live.
BORING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING
Then I realized that while the trainer said boring, I could actually consistently create home-prepared meals (or order clean meals when eating out) and set myself up for success. So a day of eating could be: eggs with a side of sauteed greens, avocado and mixed berries for breakfast, a piece of fruit for snack, a salmon BLT with avocado on whole-grain at lunch (this exact sandwich exists at a pub near Under Armour’s Baltimore headquarters), Greek yogurt for an afternoon snack and finally grilled chicken, veggie stir-fry (no rice) and a salad for dinner.
When I thought about it, I realized we might be living in a golden era of healthy eating. There are so many genuinely tasty, healthy things to consume these days, more and more nutritious options when eating out (Sweetgreen, Zoe’s Kitchen and so many others) and even more ways to get them to your door (online grocery ordering, meal-delivery services, produce-delivery services.) It’s even infiltrating fashion. Under Armour has jumped in on this cultural moment.
MEETING WITH A NUTRITIONIST
Once I sat down with a nutritionist, we figured out my big problem had little to do with not eating boring enough (my words, not hers). It was actually that I was not eating enough protein. Sigh of relief! I had been trying to cut calories by focusing on fruits and veggies, which resulted in me eating about two ounces of protein at each meal, while working out a lot. Big mistake.
READ MORE > DON’T LIKE TO EXERCISE? HERE ARE 6 WAYS TO MOTIVATE
If you are struggling with consistency, here are some tips to get on track. I huddled with my friend, Camille Range, MPH, RDN, to validate that all these tips, which worked for me, jive with current best practices:
1. HAVE A GO-TO SHOPPING LIST
Go to the store with a plan. Think of the healthy foods you love and start with those. As a general rule of thumb, it helps to stick to the perimeter of the store (don’t forget to stop by the frozen and canned fruit and veggie aisles, too) so you aren’t as likely to be surrounded by processed foods.
I keep a running “everyday grocery list” in my iPhone notepad, which makes grocery shopping easy. Depending on what’s in season, I’ll pick from this list: olive oil, apples, oranges, bananas, garlic, scallions, spinach, lemons, avocados, jalapeños, arugula, broccolini, mushrooms, basil, quinoa, eggs, greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries and pomegranate seeds. Depending on what’s on sale, I’ll add different items from the produce section as well as proteins each week — usually chicken and fish. Check out these extra tips for getting healthy food into your home at a decent price.
Even if you don’t have a list, and you are conveniently close to the store, stop at the door and write a quick list. Even the shortest list can strengthen your discipline as you walk through the aisles.
2. PACK MEALS AND SNACKS
I love to cook, but I eat a lot of my meals outside of home. So, to stay on track, I meal prep whenever I can. That way, when I eat lunch or dinner at the cafeteria or restaurant, I don’t feel guilty about eating bread or pasta. It’s all about strategy.
Studies show that keeping healthy food in open view encourages better eating, so I also keep fruit at my desk in plain sight. That way, if I have a sugar craving, an orange is the first thing I can see and more important the first thing I grab to squash my craving. This helps cut back on my tendency to graze on the typically unhealthy snacks that frequent the office. Sometimes you have to splurge, so if I eat a serving of fruit (and a large glass of water) and I still want a cookie, then damnit, I’m going to have the cookie. But usually, the fruit alone is enough.
3. LOG YOUR MEALS
You are reading this on the MyFitnessPal blog, so you know how valuable tracking is. Maybe you’ve fallen off your tracking rhythm. It happens to the best of us. So don’t give up, because it works.
There are times when I haven’t eaten a specific food (I’m looking at you Uniporns & Rainho cupcake) because I didn’t want to have to log it in the app and watch my “remaining” calorie balance plummet. Tracking not only keeps you accountable, but it’s educational, too. I learned that my favorite green juice had more than 300 calories. In need of a little incentive to log and accomplish your goals? Join a challenge on MyFitnessPal!
READ MORE > OK. YOU GAINED WEIGHT. THESE 5 TIPS WILL GET YOU BACK ON TRACK
4. MIND YOUR MACROS
Logging is important, but do you ever look past the calorie count? Sometimes I forgot. I was laser focused on calories and trying to drop pounds that I stopped thinking about food in a holistic way. I was doing intense workouts and foolishly only getting about 50 grams of protein per day (embarrassed face). I discovered I needed to pay more attention to my protein intake. Protein needs vary depending on a lot of factors like weight and activity level, in fact there’s a lot of debate about how much you should have. I discovered my body needed more. Protein has may benefits, including playing an important role in weight loss. Plus there are plenty of vegetarian-friendly protein options, including this pancake recipe.
Check this out for tips to look beyond the calories and start considering your macros.
5. FIND STRATEGIC WIGGLE ROOM
Consistency is key, but literally eating the same foods every day can get monotonous. The good news is that with all the healthy options out there, it’s easy to try new things. Plus, you’ve gotta mix it up or else you might end up with the urge to snatch a chicken finger right out of the hands of a defenseless child. Give yourself permission to explore.
If you need a splurge, use moderation. I find that if I allow myself a few strategic indulgences throughout the week, I’m more successful than when I give myself a day to go wild. I know some people swear by cheat days, but for me, cheat day turns into cheat days, plural. Then a cheat week, and then I feel all guilty (and have gained several pounds in a matter of days).
Health is a journey and we are each “a work in progress.” For me, focusing on consistency has been tremendously helpful. It’s also made tracking much easier in MyFitnessPal as I can easily save these frequent combinations as “meals” in the app or use the nifty “copy to/from date” feature. Additionally, I’ve started to memorize the calorie counts of some of my most frequent meals, so I can sometimes just keep passive track in my head before I get a chance to log it in the app.
You don’t have to eat boring, just remain consistent, strategic and eat clean. Yes, boring can work, but that’s not the life that works for my happiness. I love a good meal and YOLO.
Do any of these tips resonate with you? Have you ever been told something seemingly unattainable that you needed to do to lose weight? I.e., “avoid all carbs,” “fat makes you fat” or “embrace hunger.” How do you stay on track? Share your thoughts and tips with me and your fellow MFPers below!
Better Than Ever
We all strive for wellness and to live better! Every month, this column will bring you advice on how to feel and perform Better Than Ever. Check out tips to improve various aspects of your health: Everything from fitness, nutrition, sleep and recovery. Have a topic you want to hear about? Feel free to reach out here (I’ll be checking the comments!) or on Twitter or Instagram. I look forward to hearing from you!
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7 Weight-Loss Lessons Americans Should Borrow from the French
We’ve heard it for years: The French don’t get fat.
It’s difficult — if not altogether impossible — to find a country that loves food more than France. Still, the average French citizen is about half as likely to be overweight as the average American, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. Rates of obesity in France are even slimmer. Call it the French paradox.
So, what are the French doing right? Here are seven habits you can put into practice for healthy weight loss and maintenance:
1. COOK — FROM SCRATCH
“People in Paris eat more at-home cooked meals than do people in New York,” says Clémence von Mueffling, the French-born founder of Beauty and Well Being. “Growing up in France, we learned recipes from our mothers,” says the daughter and granddaughter of French Vogue beauty editors. “We never relied on restaurants or processed foods.”
However, a 2016 study in BMJ Open reveals that ultraprocessed foods, including frozen meals and soda, make up 58% of the calories and 90% of the added sugar that the average American consumes per day. And people who frequently cook consume fewer calories per meal than those who eat out, per research from Johns Hopkins University.
2. EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES
French cuisine is about more than wine, cheese and baguettes. According to 2015 research published in Appetite, the French eat more fruits and vegetables than Americans do, and French family dinners place a greater emphasis on produce consumption, too.
Produce is so important to the French that the country’s version of MyPlate is a staircase with fruits and vegetables (“fruits and légumes,” in French) second only to water.
Meanwhile, national trends show that the French are further increasing their fruit and veggie intake, according to a recent report from the European organization LiveWell for LIFE. Try doing the same. In one 2015 Harvard University study, men and women who ate the most fiber-filled fruits and vegetables with lower glycemic loads maintained significantly healthier weights over the course of 24 years.
3. SLIM DOWN YOUR PORTION SIZES
The French aren’t big on supersizing their meals, instead opting for lighter meals with smaller portions, says David Benchetrit, M.D., director of the Clinique du Poids weight-loss clinic in Paris. In fact, when University of Pennsylvania researchers examined restaurant meals in both Philly and Paris, they found that U.S. meals were, on average, 25% larger than the Parisian versions. Yikes.
A 2015 review of 72 randomized controlled trials concluded that portion size dictates about 15% of our daily caloric intake, with greater portions sizes leading to excess food intake and weight gain. People tend to eat the same number of servings, no matter how big they are, Benchetrit says.
READ MORE > THE 11 MOST COMMON WEIGHT-LOSS BLUNDERS DIETITIANS SEE
4. SAVOR YOUR MEALS
Eating smaller portion sizes doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on how much you enjoy your foods. Nine out of 10 French people say that they greatly enjoy eating, while only 39% of Americans do, according to the book “The French Twist: Twelve Secrets of Decadent Dining and Natural Weight Management” and the Pew Research Center. “Eating food and pleasure are two things that go together for the French,” von Mueffling says.
The French actually sit down to eat their meals. “Sitting down and sharing meals with others is something that Parisians really like to do,” she says. People leave work for lunch, drink their coffees in cafes and rarely — if ever — eat on the go. Good thing. Research in the Journal of Health Psychology shows that eating while walking inhibits the brain’s ability to gauge food intake, thereby leading to overeating later on.
5. THINK OUTSIDE OF THE GYM
The French aren’t overly concerned with “working out,” but they instead focus on “activity,” whether it’s in a gym or not. They perform physical activities they are passionate about and don’t get hung up on what the best new exercise is, von Mueffling says.
When it comes to your health, the best exercise is the one that you enjoy doing, according to self-determination theory, the leading theory of motivation. Research consistently shows that intrinsic motivation, or doing something simply for the joy of doing it, is more effective than extrinsic factors.
6. DRINK RED WINE
According to LiveWell for LIFE, the average French citizen drinks more than one glass of alcohol per week but fewer than two to three glasses per day. That may be the sweet spot when it comes to both weight loss and health. In one study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, women who drank a light to moderate amount of alcohol per week gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming overweight during a 12.9-year follow-up compared with people who didn’t drink alcohol. Meanwhile, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health maintains that moderate drinking seems to be beneficial for the heart and circulatory system and likely protective against Type 2 diabetes.
Although ethanol (alcohol) in itself appears to have some health benefit, much of the weight- and health-improving benefits of alcohol are linked to red wine, for which the French are famous. For instance, in a 2015 International Journal of Obesity animal study, resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, was found to increase metabolic rate and convert calorie-storing white fat into calorie-burning brown fat. Just follow the French’s lead and don’t overdo it: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
7. EAT OFTEN
The traditional French daily routine contains three main meals plus one afternoon snack, according to LiveWell for LIFE. The average American skips breakfast, eats a couple of huge meals per day and often goes for hours between eating. And while your total daily caloric intake is the main factor when it comes to weight loss, PLOS ONE research suggests that eating small, frequent meals is beneficial for muscle mass, which often takes a nosedive during weight loss and is critical to maintaining a healthy metabolic rate.
What’s more, eating small, regular meals as opposed to large, infrequent ones can help to prevent blood sugar spikes and dips that are linked with fat storage and excess caloric consumption.
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Beef Flatbread with Yogurt Sauce | Recipe
Cooking Light‘s Mediterranean-inspired flatbread uses budget-friendly lean ground beef simmered slowly in a tomato sauce. Serve on a crispy flatbread with refreshing yogurt sauce and you’ll have a main course that’s hard to resist. Experiment with ground lamb or turkey for a different flavor profile. You can make the meat filling ahead of time, then reheat and assemble when you’re ready to serve.
Beef Flatbread with Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (6-ounce) container plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 4 whole-grain flatbreads (about 100 calories each)
- 1 medium cucumber
- 12 ounces 90% lean ground beef
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted Italian-style diced tomatoes
Directions
Preheat broiler to high.
Combine yogurt, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir until well mixed.
Cut each flatbread in half at the fold. Broil 1 minute or until toasted, turning after 30 seconds.
Cut cucumber in half lengthwise. Place cut side down, and cut into 1/4-inch slices.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef to pan, stirring to crumble. Add tomatoes to pan; cook 6 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Spread 1 tablespoon yogurt mixture on each flatbread half; divide beef mixture evenly among flatbreads. Top evenly with cucumber slices and remaining yogurt mixture.
Nutrition Information
Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 2 tacos
Per serving: Calories: 357; Total Fat: 15g; Saturated Fat: 5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4g; Cholesterol: 73mg; Sodium: 419mg; Carbohydrate: 20g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 6g; Protein: 34g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 524mg; Iron: 23%; Vitamin A: 2%; Vitamin C: 14%; Calcium: 17%
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Is Walking the Fountain of Youth?
Walking just might be the perfect exercise: It’s low impact, reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and dementia; strengthens your heart, boosts mood, raises vitamin D, burns calories and builds muscle.
Harvard University created a chart that compares the effects of aging with the effects of exercise and found that, in almost every category, exercise counteracts the effects of aging. Now, new studies offer two more reasons to go for a brisk walk.
WALKING & HIIT
Research published in the March 2017 issue of “Cell Metabolism” found that a brisk walk could help slow the aging process. The study broke 72 participants into two age groups (18–30 and 65–80) and three exercise groups (high-intensity interval training, strength training and HIIT with strength training). At the end of the 12-week period, researchers noted that participants in the HIIT group, which included biking or “difficult” treadmill walking, had significant changes at the cellular level.
HIIT caused cells to make more proteins in the mitochondria, which take in and break down nutrients and create energy; and the ribosomes, the cell structures that make protein and repair cell damage. In the younger group, mitochondrial function increased 49%; the increase was 69% in the older group.
What this means, according to K. Sreekumaran Nair, MD, diabetes researcher at the Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study, is that exercise appears to stop aging at the cellular level. In addition to cellular changes, those in the HIIT group had improved insulin sensitivity, which could reduce their risk of diabetes.
In a statement, Nair said, “Based on everything we know, there’s no substitute for these exercise programs when it comes to delaying the aging process.”
WALKING & STEPS
Walking could also be the key to keeping older adults out of the hospital. Australian researcher Ben Ewald, PhD, senior lecturer in epidemiology and at the University of Newcastle, followed 3,253 adults over age 55 and compared the number of steps they took each day (based on pedometer data) with hospital admissions.
The findings, published in a 2017 issue of the “Medical Journal of Australia,” found that those who walked 8,800 steps per day spent one-third less time in the hospital than their more sedentary peers who walked just 4,500 steps per day.
“Physical activity reduces the risk of cancers, heart disease and diabetes, which are the main serious illnesses, so active people are less likely to end up in hospital,” says Ewald.
Although the research was done on older adults, Ewald believes the findings are applicable to all age groups, noting, “The biggest risk to health these days, now that smoking has nearly died out, is sitting down all day. There is no reason to believe that increased activity at other ages would not have similar health benefits.”
The research would also apply to activities other than walking but, Ewald notes, walking is likely the easiest form of exercise for most people to incorporate into their daily lives. “Any activity is good activity,” he says. The key is finding an activity you enjoy and incorporating it into your daily routine.
READ MORE > RESEARCH SHOWS THE HEALTHIEST WAY INTO WORK IS BY BIKE
“The easiest thing is to walk or cycle to work, because by the time you have been to work and back you have also met your physical activity target for the day with no further effort,” says Ewald.
Try wearing an activity tracker to make sure you’re getting at least the 10,000 steps (five miles) per day recommended by the American Heart Association.
GEAR UP FOR YOUR NEXT WALK
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Almost Summer 12-Minute HIIT Workout
Workout equipment:
Workout type: 12 minute
Timer setting: 18 x :10 x :30
1. Box jumps
2. Squat step overs
3. Medicine ball side to side slams
4. Explosive push ups
5. Squat throws
6. Medicine ball jackknives
Bonus: 50 Medicine ball twists
——————————————————
Leave your reps in the comments below.
My reps for today’s workout:
Box jumps (30, 29, 27)
Squat step overs (11, 10, 10)
Medicine ball side to side slams (21, 20, 20)
Explosive push ups (16, 15, 15)
Squat throws (19, 18, 18)
Medicine ball jackknives
Did you do this workout?
The post Almost Summer 12-Minute HIIT Workout appeared first on 12 Minute Athlete.
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Back to the Ocean
One Ocean!!
Hi friends. 
One Ocean has always been one of our *places*. It’s where we visited when we were first getting settled in Valdosta last time we were here, as newlyweds. It’s where we said “see ya soon” before the Pilot left across the world, and where we celebrated being reunited after months apart. It’s charming, beautiful, and located right on the beach. It was pretty surreal to head back, years later, with our babies!
I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the magic had disappeared over time. Sometimes resorts or favorite places tend to get dingy or lose some of their sparkle over the years, and others have the rare gift of timelessness I thought that maybe we’d return and it would be like, “meh, it’s different” but we’d be glad we went back to check it out again. Nope. It was even better than we remembered.
While we were there, Liv said, “I don’t miss home at all.”
I feel ya, Liv.
We had such a great weekend. When we checked into the hotel, they had a platter of crudités with dips waiting, along with a bottle of Cabernet.
We changed into our suits, and walked down to the beach, where the girls splashed and giggled in the waves. The water was SO WARM, and even this chicken (<—me) could get in, waist-deep, without shivering. We played for a solid hour before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner.
We walked down the street -there are so many new restaurants!- and decided on an old favorite: Ragtime Tavern.
We’ve consumed many bowls of gumbo (so good) in this restaurant.
We walked back to the hotel, and I put P down for bed while the Pilot and Liv went swimming in the hotel pool.
Sunday morning, we decided to have breakfast at the hotel, which had an amazing spread of all of our favorite breakfast treats.
The family that rompers together…
(Super similar one at Target)
The rest of the day was spent at the beach, building sand castles, collecting seashells, and chilling in the shade.
(Suit is here // hat )
(P refuses to wear a hat, so we spent some time under the umbrella and I’d hold my hat over her to give her a little extra sun shield)
We made a stop at another favorite place on the way home.
This TJ’s was LEGIT. They had two tasting huts, wine tasting (whaaaaaat), and a treasure chest with bars, pouches and lollipops for the kids. We stocked up on some staples, and made the drive back home. Both girls napped most of the way (YES), and the rest of the time Liv watched Moana, while P asked for ice cream (she’s obsessed) and played with her buckle toy. This thing may be the best $20 I’ve ever spent.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!! What’s one of your favorite destination spots or resorts that you love? Favorite thing you did this weekend?
xo
Gina
Blasts from the past:
Valentine’s Day at One Ocean (when I didn’t know what a macaron was. shame)
when I gave the Pilot spirulina
The post Back to the Ocean appeared first on The Fitnessista.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2017
5 Bucket List Wildflower Hikes
Spring is in full bloom, but there’s still time to catch wildflowers on hiking trails around the country. In fact, in alpine areas, you could spot flowers through the summer. Here are five trails already brimming with color, so you can score a low-impact, calorie-burning hike while enjoying high-impact aromas and views.
1. BAR ISLAND
Where: Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
High bloom: June
Flower highlights: Lupine
Spot pink, white and purple hues all along Bar Island, a small island located in Acadia National Park. You’ll need walk there at low tide, but timing your visit for the three-hour window is worth it. Once on the trail, you’ll head up through a meadow to find views not just of flowers, but of the park and sparkling harbor. The Bar Island trail itself is fairly easy to navigate and the entire walk is family friendly, at about two hours total, round trip.
Where: Linville, North Carolina
High bloom: May/June
Flower highlights: Rhododendron
The Tanawha Trail itself is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and spans more than 13 miles. You can skip to more floral areas by parking in the Rough Ridge lot accessed from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hike a mere half mile south on the Tanawha from Rough Ridge to find blooms. Note: The trail itself has some steep, rocky spots, so watch your step as you flower spot.
READ MORE > 10 AMAZING BENEFITS OF WALKING
Where: Apache Junction, Arizona
High bloom: May/June
Flower highlights: Brittlebush
This 5.5-mile trail, located in Lost Dutchman State Park, can get your heart rate up with steep climbs, so bring plenty of water and prepare to work as you spot wildflowers including vibrant lupine and poppies. (If you feel like pushing yourself even more, you can hike a half mile further to the top of the Flatiron, for additional views.)
Where: Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
High bloom: May/June
Flower highlights: Purple Larkspur
Enjoy sweeping vistas and views of the Columbia Gorge and get up close and personal with Cape Horn Falls. Enjoy maple groves, the easy sway of long grass and the shade of fir trees. Of course, there are loads of wildflowers to spot along the way. While the rugged trail is open year-round, the lower portion is closed from February to July 15 to protect nesting falcons. The upper portion still provides a scenic workout, however, and is only about a 45-minute drive from Portland.
5. ANTELOPE VALLEY POPPY RESERVE
Where: Lancaster, California
High bloom: April/May
Flower highlights: Poppies
Even though California’s state flower blooms relatively early, there’s still time to see the landscape awash in orange. The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve boasts eight miles of trails for those with a moderate fitness level, so you can lose yourself and relax only about an hour and a half from Los Angeles. Enjoy rolling meadows and hills filled with poppies, along with stunning views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
The post 5 Bucket List Wildflower Hikes appeared first on Under Armour.
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