There are three kinds of physical activity that are all a part of a healthy, active lifestyle.  Aim to participate in all three every week.

1. Strength Training:  Performing repetitions of weighted exercises utilizing weight machines or dumbbells helps to build lean muscle mass, increase bone strength and improve posture.  Aim to perform these exercises 2 to 4 days per week.

 

2. Flexibility Exercises:  Gently stretching and bending your muscles helps increase circulation, decrease the risk of injuries and maintain mobility.  Holding stretches softly for about 20 seconds per muscle group after every time you perform any exercise can also decrease muscle soreness.

 

3. Endurance Activities:  Walking, biking, yard work, dancing, water aerobics, swimming and step aerobics train your cardiovascular system and lungs.  Build up to performing endurance activities most days of the week for 30 minutes at a time.

Be sure to get clearance from your surgeon before starting any exercise programs after your weight loss surgery.

At this month’s support group meeting our focus was on one thing – EXERCISE.  Why should we exercise?  How should we exercise?  What are the best ways to exercise?  How often and how long should we exercise for?  The questions are endless.  To help us get a grip on all things exercise we invited Monica O’Reilly, owner of Fit for Life Fitness Center, to help answer these questions.  Here is a breakdown of what we learned:

• In order to reach your goals you CANNOT continue with the same eating, the same exercise, and the same physical activity behaviors.  You must change these behaviors through self discipline. 
• Physical activity does not discriminate.  Adults of all ages, shapes and sizes will gain health and fitness benefits through physical activity.
• Sitting for prolonged periods of time hurts your body.  How?  It turns off most of the abdominal muscles, over-works the back muscles, over-stretches the spinal ligaments, stresses the back portion of the discs and shortens the psoas, calf and hamstring muscles.  If you have a desk job make sure you get up and stretch every 20 – 30 minutes.
• Sarcopenia is to blame for weight gain in the majority of adults.  Sarcopenia is the gradual decrease in muscle tissue that occurs with age and begins for most people around the age of thirty.  The average adult will lose 1% of musle each year after the age of 40.  Men and women who do NOT strength train will lose 5 – 7 pounds of muscle for each decade of adult life due to disuse atrophy. 
• Lean muscle loss = slower metabolism!  A slower metabolism leads to lower energy requirements for your body to function. Fewer calories are being used so more calories are being stored as fat.  Without a reduction in food intake (calories), this process results in 15 – 17 pounds more body fat for each decade of adult life.
• Keep your muscles!  To replace muscle and raise your metabolism, strength training must be done on a regular basis.  Research reveals that by adding just 3 pounds of muscle you can raise your resting metabolism by about 7 percent. 
• Muscle loss = fat gain.  How do we fix this?  Eat sensibly.  The average person should do cardio exercise at least 3-5 times a week for a period of 25-30 minutes.  Strength train at least 2-3 times a week non-consecutively.  Work the major muscle groups of the body which include the legs, hips, chest, back, abdomen, shoulders and arms.
• Kick off your exercise program gradually.  If you are new to exercise start off with a 10 minute exercise session then increase to 2o minutes and then to 30 minutes.  When strength training start off with 1 set of 8-15 repetitions per exercise.  Progress to 2 to 3 sets over time.
• Make healthy lifestyle changes.  Know your BMI and your waist measurment.  Be aware of how many calories you are consuming.  The more calories you eat the more exercise you have to do in order to burn those calories because what your body doesn’t use will get stored as fat.  Weigh yourself weekly and if you’re goal is to lose weight, aim to lose 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week. 

Today we are encouring everyone to pull out their dusty pair of sneakers and hit the pavement for it is National Start! Walking Day.  Here are a few ideas to help you get involved!

1. Take your dog for a walk.  It’s great exercise for you and your furry friend.
2. Take an evening stroll with a friend or family member.
3. Choose to take the stairs whenever you can. 
4. Park your car further away from the entrance at work or when shopping.
5. Squeeze in a quick stroll around the office during your lunch break.

There are many possible reasons why you could be at a plateau in your weight loss. One of the top two reasons (the other being a too-relaxed approach to a healthy dietary regimen), is that your exercise routine is in a rut.

Our metabolisms are very smart, but sometimes very frustrating creatures. Your metabolism is like your body’s internal flame. Feeding the flame with a healthy, proper amount calories allows it to burn hotter, and an increase in temperature burns calories and helps you lose weight. Exercising increases your body’s metabolism as well… However, here is where our bodies are almost too smart for our own good when it comes to weight loss:

Our bodies perceive regular daily exercise as a stressor- something that the body needs to adjust to for survival. At first, an exercise regimen is seen as something different and new, which essentially catches your body off guard. This burns calories! However, once your exercise regimen becomes normal and repetitive, your body starts to say “Maybe since this is a normal thing, I need to conserve these calories so I can continue to survive!” Then your metabolism decreases to adjust and you hit a plateau in your weight loss. This is why most health professionals do not consider your daily routine as exercise. Even if you are walking all day every day for your job… it’s what your body is used to now!

So what is a weary weight watcher to do? Confuse your muscles! Change up your exercise routine in one of 4 ways, referred to as the FITT principle:

1) Frequency: Change how often you exercise. For example, if you currently exercise twice a week, increase that to three time a week to change the frequency of activity your body is doing. If you are already working out 5-6 days a week, then you probably need to change one of the other 3 factors listed here!

2) Intensity: Increase the intensity of your exercise sessions! If you are doing mainly cardiovascular exercise, then start adding short intervals of increased speed or stride or elevation until you are able to complete an entire workout at a more difficult intensity than you used to be able to. If you are lifting weights, then increase the weight if it has become to easy. As a general rule, if the last two repetitions of the last set that you perform of a given exercise are not difficult to complete, then you should increase the resistance!

3) Time: Workout for longer periods of time! Walking for 10 minutes at a time when you walk? Increase it to 15 minutes, and keep going up from there. If you don’t have the time to go for longer periods of time than you already are, then change one of the other 3 factors listed here!

4) Type: Different types of physical activity use different muscles. If you are sticking to one type of activity and nothing else besides that, then other muscle groups are missing out! Walk, swim, bike, join a water aerobics class or a basic step class, yoga, stretching… these are all low-impact exercises that could help you get out of that rut! The more muscles that you involve in your exercise regimen, the more calories you will burn.

Speak with a personal trainer for more information about the FITT principle, and, of course, if you are thinking about starting an exercise routine, speak with your doctor first.

What are the benefits of exercise?

• Improved self esteem
• Reduced stress
• Better physical and mental health
• Improved fitness and energy levels
• Easier breathing
• Better posture
• Better balance and less risk of falls and injuries
• Prolonged independence
• Increased strength of muscles and bone

Precautions

These questions are referred to as the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) and are representative of the American College of Sports Medicine standards.

If you answer “Yes” to any of the following questions, consult your doctor before starting to become physically active.

• Has your doctor ever said that you have a heart condition and that you should only do physical activity recommended by a doctor?
• Do you feel pain in your chest when you do physical activity?
• In the past month, have you had chest pain when you were not doing physical activity?
• Do you lose your balance because of dizziness or do you ever lose consciousness?
• Do you have a bone or join problem that could be made worse by a change in your physical activity?
• Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs (for example water pills) for your blood pressure or heart condition?
• Do you know of any other reason why you should not do physical activity?

If you answered “No” to all PAR-Q questions, you can begin an exercise program and slowly build your intensity.