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Monthly Archives: October 2016

October 31, 2016

Birding for fitness and health

When the publisher sent me the book, Birding at the Bridge by Heather Wolf, I wasn't sure it would be a fit for you.  But the thought hit me, birding for fitness is a thing.  Getting outside, walking and potentially more make bird watching a great hobby for health and fitness.

In this episode, Heather and I go over some getting started tips for bird watching.

 

Something else from 40+ Fitness Podcast you may enjoy

75x75_40plus https://40plusfitnesspodcast.com/walking-weight-loss/

October 28, 2016

Walking for weight loss with Lucy Wyndham-Read

In her book Walk off the weight, Lucy Wyndham-Read shows us how to use walking for weight loss.  With 5 years in the Brittish Army and 20 years in fitness, Lucy has helped thousands of men and women lose weight and stay in shape.  In this book, she sets up a daily program for walking for weight loss with walking plans and menus to ensure you're eating right.

Benefits of walking

Health – Walking strengthens your heart and reduces cholesterol.  It helps strengthen your bones.  It prevents obesity and lifts depression.
Fitness – Walking helps make you faster and stronger and gives you more stamina.  You'll improve your flexibility and balance.
Weight – Walking for weight loss works because you are burning more calories both during and after the walk.
– Aging – Walking helps promote human growth hormone (HGH), which begins declining after age 20.

Measure it & snap it

Measurements – Lucy recommends you measure your waist, bottom, thighs and arms so you can see your progress.
What to expect – As you go, you'll notice you are dropping dress sizes and feeling stronger and more energetic.
Commitment – Before you start, make the commitment to make it through the first seven days.  This will drive you through the 21 days.

Tips for Motivation

1. Mind makeover – Make sure you have the right attitude to ensure success.
2. Put on your visualization glasses – Visualize what health and fitness looks like.
3. Score a goal – Set goals to drive you.
4. Be your own fitness dj – Change up your playlist from time to time to stay motivated.
5. On the dot – Find a set time to work out so you're high energy and can keep doing it.
6. Become a master chef – Learn how to make new dishes with fresh, healthy ingredients.

Walking for weight loss links:

Youtube Channel

Twitter

 

Something else from 40+ Fitness Podcast you may enjoy

75x75_40plus https://40plusfitnesspodcast.com/11-best-getting-started-tips

 

 

 

 

Is wheat poison?

Cindi O'meara is a nutritionist who in her effort to heal herself and determine if wheat is poison, made the documentary “What's with Wheat.”  In this documentary, Cindy brings together some of the best experts on health and fitness to discuss what we've done to wheat over the last several decades and what it is doing to our bodies.

In a search for optimizing her own longevity, Cindi started an elimination diet.  Within days she had lost weight and was looking and feeling great.  As she reintroduced food, she recognized that wheat was a problem for her.  Shortly after her discovery, books began coming out on the dangers of wheat.

Is wheat poison today?

As hunter-gathers, we were nomads.  Once we could cultivate crops, we were able to settle in towns and cities.  This made civilization possible.

In the 1920s we began having the first shelf stable foods.  Finding we were developing vitamin deficiencies, food companies began fortifying foods with artificial vitamins.  Then in the 1970s we began developing hybrids and spraying the wheat with chemicals.

And one of the core differences, we are exposed to much more wheat through our food, cosmetics, etc.

Elimination Diets

Cindi used an elimination diet to get healthier, and she provides a guide for doing a four-week elimination-style diet.  Many people shy away from dropping wheat and grains from their diet.  While this is not the easiest of protocols, it is typically only temporary for most foods.  It is only the foods that make you sick that you'll have to avoid after the initial period.

 

changinghabits.com.au

What's With Wheat documentary

 

Elimination diets

Paleo for thyroid health with Elle Russ

 

 

October 24, 2016

11 best nutrition tips

In this episode, I share my best nutrition tips.  Most people approach weight loss from an exercise perspective.  Unfortunately, when you're over 40, it is nearly impossible to out-exercise a poor diet.

My best nutrition tips

Cut sugar

Sugar is the number one reason most of us are overweight.  When we eat more sugar that we need for current energy, our insulin spikes to take up the sugar and store it as fat.  Over time, this can lead to obesity and diabetes.

Water

Many people will question why I put water in my nutrition tips when water isn't a nutrient.  Water is essential for good health but is even more important when we're exercising and losing weight.

Simple carbs

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, but there are more simple carbs that make up our daily intake. And these raise our insulin and are stored as fat when we take in more than our body needs at the point we eat them.

Protein

Protein is an essential building block for our body.  But in excess, our body breaks it down to glucose for energy use and/or storage as fat.

Whole foods

I'm a strong believer that we should primarily eat real, whole foods.  Processing strips the food of nutrients.  Foods that are “fortified” to make up for this don't necessarily serve us well.  Whole foods are things your great-grandmother would have recognized as food.

Read labels

If you find yourself eating something from a package, take the time to read the nutrition label.  You might be surprised at the chemicals that are used to keep that product shelf stable and the other additives to make it taste the way it does.

Portion size

We have been conditioned by restaurants and food companies to eat far more than a single portion at a meal.  Break this conditioning by requesting a takeaway box for the excess.

Logging

Take the time to log the food you're eating.  This can help you learn more about what's in the food (calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, etc.) and makes it easier to manage your food.

Slow down

Eat slower to eat less.  Your body needs time to process the hormone signaling to know your full.  Slowing down also helps you enjoy the food more.

Be prepared

Many times, we make poor choices because we haven't taken the time to plan and prepare.  If you know you're going to out, pack a healthy snack.  I will often pre-log my food for the day and make sure to carry that with me in an insulated container.

Try new foods

Most of us stick to foods we know and like.  This can lead to nutritional deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals.  Varying your diet can help you get the nutrients you need.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Do you have any nutrition tips I missed?  If so, please let me know in the comments below.

How to shop for good food

Health and Fitness Foundations

 

October 21, 2016

Menopause advice for women and men with Dr. Tara Allmen

In this episode, we meet Dr. Tara Allmen to get menopause advice and solutions presented in her book Menopause Confidential: A Doctor Reveals the Secrets to Thriving Through Midlife.

Every man needs a gynecologist for menopause advice

An accountant and a gynecologist have in common when meeting a man at a party, the question ‘what do you do for a living' is a conversation stopper.  It shouldn't be that way.  At least not when you meet a gynecologist.  There is a lot to learn what the women in your life are (or will) experience.  Menopause advice works for both women and men.

Sleep

The symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can cause sleep disruption.  It is important for women to focus on getting the best quality sleep.  A few sleep tips provided by Dr. Allmen include:

  • Go to bed at the same time each night.
  • Avoid stimulants that will disrupt sleep such as heavy meals, alcohol, and caffeine.
  • Cool, dark bedroom.
  • Don't keep your phone by the bed.
  • Eat healthy foods.
  • Exercise regularly.

Colon cancer

Dr. Allmen decided to design her own colon cleansing approach and has been successful in coming up with a way that is a lot easier.  She's shared this approach with her patients and they've had great results in colon screening prep.  While not menopause advice, it is something we face in mid-life and you may find Dr. Allman's recipe for colon cleansing easy and effective.

Weight lifting

It is very important that women work to maintain muscle mass and bone density by lifting weights.

Links

DrAllmen.com

The menopause solution | Dr. Stephanie Faubion

The estrogen window | Mache Seibel

October 19, 2016

11 best bodyweight exercises

Today I will share my favorite bodyweight exercises.  I picked these exercises because they cover the most of the fitness modalities depending on how you use them.

Advantages of Bodyweight Exercises

  1. They require no equipment.
  2. You can do them practically anywhere.
  3. Easy to scale to your fitness level.
  4. Doing these can give you the confidence when you're ready step up to free weights.
  5. Most are low injury risk.
  6. Adaptable to hit multiple fitness modalities.

Precautions

  • Always check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
  • Warm up completely before doing an exercise.
  • Know how to perform good form.
  • Keep good form during the exercise.

11 Best Bodyweight Exercises

Note: There is no sound in the bodyweight exercise videos to facilitate you watching the video while you listen to the podcast.

1. Bodyweight Squat

This is my favorite bodyweight exercise. It builds strength and mass in the thighs and butt. Hold on to something if you have issues with balance or squat depth. Add a jump to the end to add intensity and power.

2. Push Up

This works the chest and triceps. Start with your knees on the ground and progress to a full push up. Elevate your feet for intensity or add a clap at the top to work on power.

3. Sprints

Sprints are a great exercise to build metabolic capacity and endurance.  Sprints should go for 20 – 30 seconds.  Note: This was hard to demonstrate in my yard, but I hope you got the gist.

4. Hollow Hold

This is a great, low risk-high reward core exercise. Be sure to breathe during the hold. Go longer for more intensity or add a rocking motion, which would make it a hollow rock.

5. Bear Crawl

The bear crawl works your shoulders for strength and improves mobility in the hips (both great for us desk jockeys).

6. Burpee

Anyone that has done burpees, hates burpees. But they keep doing them because they work. A full body exercise that helps build endurance and strength.

7. Bicycle Crunch

This is another core exercise that allows you to work core strength more dynamically across multiple core areas (front and sides). The abs are a set of muscles, so hitting them from multiple directions helps keep them strong and balanced.

8. Carioka

One of the main reasons elderly people lose independence is from a fall that results in a broken hip. Many times the fall is to the side and they are unable to respond in time to stop it.  The carioka forces you to maintain balance as you move sideways.  It does provide some endurance benefits as well (especially when part of a circuit where you're already metabolically taxed).

9. Side Lunge

I like the side lunge because it is one of the few bodyweight exercises that isn't front or back.  Like the squat, it builds strength and muscle mass in your thighs and butt, but from a different angle.

10. Mountain Climber

This exercise builds strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps and is metabolically challenging (endurance).  Be sure to work through the full range of motion.

11. Sampson Lunge

This is another good exercise to help with hip mobility as you build strength, in your legs this time.  Do this slow and controlled to get a really good hip stretch during each lunge.

As you can see, my dogs had as much fun with this as I did.  For the dog lovers, the German Shepard is Angel, the Chihuahua is Joe Joe, and the Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix is Baby. Of note, I did all of these exercises in a circuit and it was quite taxing. I could see doing three rounds of this, with a short rest between each round as being a great workout for even the most fit individuals.

Are there any bodyweight exercises I missed that you think should have made the list?  If so, let me know in the comments below. 

4 fitness modalities that matter

Uncommon exercises