How To Start Exercising

If you have just had a baby or simply just have let your weight slide for years it can be hard getting back into an exercise program. However if you want your children to watch you grow old, losing those pounds might be mandatory.

 One of the best ways to lose it (and also combat depression as discussed in a previous blog) is to exercise. Not necessarily diet – but exercising. First of all you should ask your doctor if you need an exercise stress test, or whether you should follow any special exercise guidelines before you embark on any type of program.

You should then consult with a professional at a gym, such as one of the employees at your local YWCA or your doctor to figure out the work out program that is ideal for you. If you are obsessed for instance your doctor may not recommend anything more strenuous than walking at first. 

It is also not a good idea to 'binge' exercise. Exercise regularly and get into a routine rather than go in fits and starts or you are setting your body up for the kind of shock that can lead to injury or heart attack. To optimize the positive effects of any aerobic exercise, you must sustain an activity for at least 20-45 minutes at each session. If you are just beginning exercise, start with a 10-minute workout and gradually add two minutes a week until you reach your fitness goal.   

While exercising try to keep your heart rate within your 'target heart rate zone.' Calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Your target heart rate is 60-75% of your maximum heart rate. This formula cannot be utilized if you are taking certain cardiac medications. Consult your health care provider for your target heart rate parameters if you are on medications. If you are on certain medications it may not be wise for you to exercise, which is unfortunate, as that will prevent you from accessing one of the easiest weight loss tools at your disposal. 

To determine your heart rate, you must first learn how to take your pulse. Using middle and index fingers, locate your pulse on the thumb side of your wrist. Press lightly. Count your pulse for 10 seconds starting with zero. Multiply by 6 to arrive at your pulse rate. Never stop your activity completely to take your pulse. Keep moving at a slower pace to slowly come out of an exercise. It is important to do a warm-up and cool-down before you exercise. A slow but steady building of excessive intensity during a warm up allows the cardiovascular system to adjust to the increasing demands of exercise, and a good cool down helps it adjust back to resting level.  

While exercising it is also very important to be aware of your body. Listen to your body and heed warning signs of cardiovascular disease, such a chest pain or pressure, abnormal heart rhythms or dizziness. While these symptoms are often caused by something other than heart disease, it is best to be safe and check them out.  A healthy person will not be in pain while exercising.

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Your Kids Are What They Eat

The cliché phrase is — 'You are what you eat!'  This is absolutely true, however to refine the phrase a little more it should perhaps be revised to 'You are what you digest.'   

This is true for both you and your kids. Vitamins don't quite cut it when it comes to your kids overall health (and yours too.)

The reason you can't replace food with pills is because very few people (especially older people) have much success digesting vitamin pills. They simply pass through the intestines undissolved.  It is a very common problem. The point is that having a good diet is not the same as dieting or popping vitamin or herbal supplements. The food choices we make throughout our lives can help prevent the many diseases that cause premature death or disability, including heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.  S

ome natural doctors even go so far to insist that diet is the cure for certain kinds of ailments and can go so far as to reverse certain types of ailments and conditions.  To prevent your kids from having dispositions to getting these ailments you need to start them off early. However, the relationship between a good diet and anti-aging is not just speculative in the scientific community.

Nutritionists and doctors are much less skeptical about food as a cure for aging then they used to be.  This is because three long-term studies being conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health have examined the lives of 300,000 people and the findings suggested that a a diet rich in vegetables may help prevent breast and prostate cancer. Another finding was that colon cancer is more common in those who eat red meat and that high fat diets increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Furthermore a diet with too many refined carbohydrates increases the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes Another thing about this study is that an effective healthy diet was not specific to any age.

In other words, what is considered a healthy diet at six years old will still be a healthy diet at age sixty or seventy.  The fact that this type of diet is anti-aging is a given so it is never too late to start rehabilitating the diet through changing your eating habits. This is because it is all about eating in a manner that will prevent the oxidization of cells by free radicals in the first place. 

Yet another important finding of this Harvard Study is that those that those who sat down at a meal and enjoyed it by sharing it with others were more likely to be healthier than those who ate their dinners alone, in front of the television or in a less formal fashion (such as eating on the run.)  This principle focuses the eater to pay attention to what is going into his or her mouth as the center of attention is the meal and not the television set!

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