Chose to lose weight to a level that doesn't compromise your health nor quality of life.
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Training for the Three Bridges Half Marathon is in full swing with a two hour run undertaken today. For someone who was not fit six months ago this is great progress. It has been most helpful to have lost weight prior to starting the training. By losing weight previously I am not causing extra stress to my joints etc with the raised level of activity.
While my runs are typically between one and two hours I wonder what the minimum level of activity is to keep fit? I wonder where the recommendation of a minimum of half an hour of moderate exercise orginally came from. Has it been actually tested? So many studies are based on this level of activity but why is this standard being used?
So get off the couch and get moving. Any exercise is better than none.
Keith
Modern life sees us rushing here and there (and back again). Lots to be done. No time to relax. We eat fast food and we tend to eat food fast.
However, to help us in our endeavours to lose weight it appears we should slow down and eat slowly. A brief video points to the value of eating slowly. By eating food over a longer period there is time for the body to tell the brain it is full. To watch the video click on the link to the HealthDay website
HealthDay video
So, to lose weight, eat food more slowly (and perhaps more slow food as well)
Keith
The pressure is on. The Three Bridges Half Marathon in Wanganui is three weeks away. A 1.5 hour hill run yesterday indicates the training is on track.
I am aiming for 1 hour 45 minutes. To a runner this will seem a very modest target however the point is I’m not an athelete. If I can achieve this so can most people.
I have got to this point through two steps. Firstly I lost over 25 kgs. This rekindled an interest in getting and keeping fit. Since then I have been jogging and, in October, ran a half marathon to test my fitness. With little idea how well I would go I finished in 1 hour 50 minutes. To maintain this fitness I then selected completing the Three Bridges run as the next goal. Having a relatively short term goal helps keep the interes7t and motivation up.
I see a large number of overweight people out training – mainly walking, running and cycling. However from my experience exercise alone wont get your weight down. I found to lose weight I first needed to change my eating habits. In addition, once you have achieved the weight loss you don’t put the same stress on your body, particularly joints, when you are out training.
Go for a run, eat an apple. And, if you are looking for a goal consider participating in an event like The Three Bridges Marathon, Half Marathon or Walk.
cheers, Keith
We are bringing up a generation that will need to lose weight.
As parents we are concerned about road safety and stranger danger. However we seem to be less vigilant about a widespread danger to our kids. We appear to be compromising their health at an increasingly younger age. While historically many adults have drifted into obesity in middle age we are raising a generation that will enter adulthood obese. Not the proudest of legacies!
An investigation of children’s meals at fast food outlets found only 3% met the standards set by the National School Lunch Program. The average energy density of the meals that failed the standards was 2.3 calories per gram compared with 1.5 in the standards. Of the meals that failed 65% had too much fat while the levels of a number of key nutrients were inadequate.
reference: J.M. Mendoza, “Kids, Fast Food, & Obesity: Menu Reviews From a Houston Pediatrician” Agricultural Research, October 2009
To read the article click on: article
Lets make sure our kids eat well and enter adulthood healthy. It will then be up to them to determine their future health and hopefully they will follow the guidance provided to them in their formative years.
regards, Keith
Researchers have found adequate sleep levels were a factor in workers making healthy food choices.
reference: O.M Buxton et al, Vol 99, No. S3, American Journal of Public Health, November 2009,
While the research has relevance for workplace practices we can take the finding on board personally. If we are not sleeping properly we are more likely to make poorer choices about what we eat.
Sleep well, Keith
While you may have a natural tendancy to put on fat easily you can lose weight and control weight loss whatever genes you have.
A review of an article in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition reported on research regarding a possible link between genes and the propensity to develop belly fat. It was found the presence of various genetic factors increased the ease at which individuals put on body fat. It was noted some participants were consuming excessive saturated fat.
While there were genetic links to obesity there was not a link between genetic traits and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. (See blog on metabolic syndrome)
Probably the most interesting comment from the study is – “while we may have a genetic disposition to obesity we are largely in control of our weight.”
According to Health Day the orginal source can be found in Journal of Nutrition, November 2009.
To source the article click on: Health Day review of article
regards, Keith
According to research 100,500 cases of cancer in America each year are due to overweight/obesity. Obesity also affects the recovery rate after cancer treatment.
One of the authors, Melinda Irwin, recommends exercise for cancer survivors. It would appear exercise assists to regulate hormones, with regular activity improving survival rates for both obese and healthy weight individuals.
To read the article click on the link: American Institute for Cancer Research article
source: http://www.aicr.org/site/News2/
regards, Keith
If you are obese lose weight to reduce the risk of damage to your heart.
Left atrial enlargement of the heart can lead to atrial fibrillation, stroke and death. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports obesity is the most important risk factor for left atrial enlargement. The authors conclude early intervention is important if young obese people are to avoid premature changes to their heart.
If you are obese it would appear important to lose weight, what ever your age, to avoid or minimise left atrial enlargement. A change in diet and possibly lifestyle could be life saving.
To access the article click: JACC article abstract
regards, Keith
A recent study reported participants on a low fat diet had an improved mood compared with those on a high fat – very low carbohydrate diet. While both diets had contributed to similar weight loss over a year the better mood may contribute to more successful long term weight loss for those on the low fat diet.
Click here to access the article: Archives of Internal Medicene, November 2009 article abstract
What I find amazing is that science is still spending so much resource investigating low fat and low carbohydrate diets in the first place. It is increasingly clear low fat/carbohydrate are only short term fixs. Until the mindset is firmly on adequate / balanced eating habits the results of diets will be short lived and disappointing.
Eat good fat, carbohydrate and protein in moderation…
The only low diet I recommend is a low glycemic diet and the main things that this diet is low in are the high sugar foods that are the major contributors to the health crises we face today – including obesity and metabolic syndrome.
regards, Keith
A recent study indicates excessive red meat, particularly cooked at high temperature, may increase the risk of prostate cancer.
To access the article click on the link: Meat and Meat-related Compounds and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Large Prospective Cohort Study in the United States
regards, Keith
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