5 Underrated Benefits of Exercise, According to Science (msn.com)
Tag: exercising
Never Do These To Lose Weight~
Never skip meals
Constantly find yourself downing bags of chips or sleeves of cookies? Despite what you may think, feeling like you’re always hungry is not because you have a lack of willpower. In fact, if these binges are happening on busy days when you’ve “forgotten” to eat lunch, it’s likely a sign you need to change up your diet. “While skipping meals might seem like an easy way to eat less, it will most likely actually cause you to eat more later on,” Sarah-Jane Bedwell, RD, LDN, told us.
Never forget to drink water
“Not drinking enough water can have a negative impact on the metabolism as well as your appetite,” says Alexandra Miller, RDN, LDN. Research has shown that people often respond to their thirst inappropriately by eating instead of drinking since the same part of our brain controls both responses. When you’re hydrated, it also helps to make your stomach feel full, which can fend off the feeling of hunger.
Never cut out entire groups of foods
You shouldn’t punish an entire food group as a dietary villain. A diet that forbids entire food groups is not only unsustainable, but it can also be dangerous. (Unless, of course, there’s a medical reason—such as lactose intolerance or Celiac disease—to scratch something from your diet). For example: While eating too many refined flour foods can pack on the pounds by spiking your blood sugar and never fully satisfying your hunger pangs, that doesn’t mean that all carbs have the same effect. In fact, whole grains are rich in energizing B vitamins and digestion-slowing fiber. Plus, since carbs are an essential source of energy, completely slashing this food group from your diet can cause exhaustion, irritability, and lethargy.
Never fall for health halos
Whether it’s slapping a product with a “sugar-free” label or pointing out the food’s myriad of vitamins and minerals, marketing claims can get in the way of weight loss if you’re not actually reading the ingredients and nutritional information. You see, when dieters perceive a food to be nutritious—thanks to buzzwords like “organic” or “gluten-free”—they tend to misjudge how many calories are actually in them. As a result, dieters tend to feel entitled to indulge, which can lead to eating 131 percent more calories than you otherwise would, according to a Cornell University study.
Never eat while watching T.V.
The big game is on and it’s dinner time? Well, that’s why we have DVR! Press pause. Experts find that when your mind is distracted by other things while eating, such as watching TV or listening to loud music, it can block certain satiety cues from alerting your brain that you’ve eaten your fill. As a result, you consume more calories than your body needs, which will likely be stored as fat.
Never go it alone
You’ve decided to change your life—good for you! Now spread the news! When you share your mission with your close friends and family, it will help you to build a support system and you’ll have people who can keep you accountable to your goals. It’s easy to mindlessly scoop another spoonful of ice cream into a bowl, but you might think twice if you have to justify this extra portion to your family as you eat dessert together at the dinner table. Want to take it a step further? Find yourself a diet buddy! Dieters who have a weight-loss partner lose significantly more belly fat compared to those who try to slim down alone, according to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Never dine while you dash
In a rush? Don’t start shoveling food in your face. If there’s one resolution to make this year, it should be to extend your lunch break to at least 20 minutes. Why the time minimum? Experts have found it takes around that amount of time for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full. It’s one of the reasons why fast food is so bad for your waistline; you quickly eat the calorie-laden fare before your body can tell you you’ve had enough!
Never forget to exercise
According to recent research published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, weight loss programs that formally include an exercise routine are significantly more effective for weight loss and improved health than diets without recommended sweat sessions.
Never go too hard too fast
It’s great to switch things up into a new exercise routine, but don’t hit the ground running—both literally and figuratively. If your body isn’t used to working out on the reg, you could injure yourself if you up your reps or mileage too quickly, which can hamper your weight-loss progress. Take your time to build up your base before you start racking up 10-mile runs every day.
Never rely on exercise either
“Moving more” isn’t going to be the only thing that helps you slim down. For starters, a 2012 review published in the journal Obesity Reviews found that people tend to overestimate how many calories they burn when they workout. As a result, people will not only overcompensate for their workout by eating more calories than they burned, but they may also think they can now indulge in junk food as a “reward” for exercise. As an example, a 155-pound person biking for one hour burns on average 520 calories. That can all be undone by under two slices of Domino’s Hand Tossed Cheese pizza.
Walking~
- Most adults don’t get enough exercise, but getting in shape has an abundance of mental and physical health benefits.
- Walking can extend your life, prevent disease, and make you happier.
- In some ways, walking is the perfect exercise, as it’s accessible, easy, and free.
- By walking just 30 minutes a day, you can significantly transform your health.
There’s little that can transform your overall mental and physical health as much as exercise.
Working out regularly can extend your life, ward off heart disease and various cancers, rebuild the muscle and bone strength lost with age, and reduce levels of anxiety and depression.
Perhaps best of all, you can start to get all those benefits just by deciding to regularly go for a walk.
For many, getting started with fitness can be intimidating – weight training, interval sprints, and even certain bodyweight exercises might all seem a little too much if you aren’t familiar with where to begin. But people unsure about how they want to get started with fitness should take heart in a simple fact. Most research shows that doing just a little exercise is still vastly better than doing nothing.
Stepping outside and walking down the street – or through a park or along a trail – is enough to start transforming your health.
Recommended physical activity guidelines call for healthy adults to do a minimum of two and half hours of moderate-intensity activity – or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity – plus at least two muscle-strengthening days a week.
Walking doesn’t get you all the way there, as it doesn’t include strength training. But even meeting the moderate activity guidelines with a regular walking habit can do a lot.
According to one large study of older adults published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine that looked at 62,178 men and 77,077 women, people who walk at least 150 minutes per week were about 20% less likely to die than inactive adults during the 13-year study period.
“Walking has been described as the ‘perfect exercise’ because it is a simple action that is free, convenient, does not require any special equipment or training, and can be done at any age,” the authors wrote in their conclusion.
It is worth trying to keep up a decent pace, however. Another study of more than 50,000 adults in the UK found that people who walked regularly at an average or quick pace were about 20% less likely to die – and 24% less likely to die from heart disease – when compared to slow walkers.
While life extension and disease reduction are important, those aren’t the only reasons to go for a walk. Smaller studies have shown that even a 30-minute walk on a treadmill is enough to lift the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive disorder.
A recent study from researchers at Harvard University and other institutions found that three hours of exercise a week, no matter the type of activity, could decrease the risks of depression. The risk decreased an additional 17% with each added 30 or so minutes of daily activity.
None of this is to say you shouldn’t eventually start incorporating strength training and other forms of exercise into your routine – there are reasons why those exercises are included in fitness guidelines. But if you just wanted to get started in a simple way, know that going for a walk can be more powerful than it seems.
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