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LIVING: Food/Dining/Nutrition
Karen Hawkins, DeCA Dietitian
Food/Nutrition
MA, RD, LD - Contributor
info@armywifemagazine.com
Start Today With Walking 10 Minutes
by Karen Hawkins, MA, RD, LD posted June 2010
We all have reasons why we don’t exercise. Do any of these reasons sound familiar to you-no time to exercise, too many things to do, too tired or just not interested in it? Once you get past the reasons, just walking just ten minutes at a time can help you start feeling better and fitting into your favorite jeans again in the New Year. Taking it a step further, the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans make it easy to create an activity plan that works best for you.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans breaks your physical activity down into smaller chunks of time during the day at a moderate or vigorous effort. Try going for a 10-minute brisk walk, three times a day, five days a week. This will give you a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity. Adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits. Take your tennis shoes to work and start feeling better by walking 30 minutes a day.
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Archives: Nutrition/Food/Dining
The Facts
Adults should also do moderate – or high-intensity – muscle strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups two or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits. Each decade after age 40, we lose about ten percent of our muscle mass if we don’t do regular resistance exercises or strength training. When we lose muscle mass, it can be replaced in our bodies by fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, so it makes sense to try to maintain our muscle mass as we get older. Muscles get stronger when they have to lift weight or pull something regularly. To slow down muscle loss, strengthen your big muscles around the thighs, arms, shoulders and back. Strength training can be as simple as using cans of vegetables to do bicep curls, or doing sit-ups and squats a few days a week. Or, it can be as involved as working with a physical trainer at your local gym to design a program just for you. Strength training two to three days a week, along with physical activity that increases resting heart rate for up to 30 minutes or more several days a week, is ideal for good health.
Track Your Progress
There is a good tool to track your physical activity at My Pyramid. It allows you to enter a day’s worth of physical activity information and receive an overall “score” for your physical activities. You can use this tool to track your physical activity over time.
Tips to help you get physical activity in every day:
•Park the car at the back of the parking lot and walk more.
Park the car at the back of the parking lot and walk more. •Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. •Exercise while watching TV (hand weights, stationary bicycle, treadmill, elliptical machine, exercise ball).
Exercise while watching TV (hand weights, stationary bicycle, treadmill, elliptical machine, exercise ball). •Make physical activity a part of your family’s daily routine.
Make physical activity a part of your family’s daily routine. •Break your physical activity down into 10-15 minute sessions throughout the day.
Break your physical activity down into 10-15 minute sessions throughout the day. Taking just a few minutes to go for a walk, do a few sit ups or play tag with your kids can all add up during a day. Using a little creativity with physical activity can really benefit your health.
