How to Get Better Health in 10 Minutes a Day.

Studies show that you do not need hours per week at a gym to benefit from exercise. Beginning consistent exercise with adequate rest between sessions can improve health most for those who were sedentary. Any suggested exercise should be confirmed and agreed with your medical doctor.

[1]

Steps

Do at least a little moderate exercise. This study suggests 70 minutes a week (10 minutes a day) of added exercise can lessen your dangers of blood, heart and arterial diseases and improve your quality of life.

Read how this works as explained by Dr. Tim Church, Pennington Research Center, Baton Rouge, La.; he said

“Our bodies respond very positively to even small amounts of physical activity,”

“For sedentary individuals, the immediate health benefits are huge. In fact, those who have been doing nothing stand to benefit the most from increasing physical activity in terms of dying prematurely.”

Sedentary individuals (who seldom get exercise) may benefit by increasing daily exercise by several minutes.

Realize the regular recommendation is to gradually work up to 150 minutes a week (21+ minutes per day) of exercise — and this did not change, yet recent studies indicate that results are apparent in half that time.

Dr. Church also says of the study: “We saw a change in waist size, which is associated with the most dangerous form of abdominal fat, in just 70 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike.”

Avoid perfectionism, ie: all-or-nothing thinking:

like "I can’t run fast for 4 minutes, or jog for an hour, so why even try?" and

like you may underestimate the positive effects of less-intense exercise.

like equating weight loss with fitness and despair if the scale doesn’t change much.

Reshape your thinking and shape-up your health: as Dr. Church suggests that your walking a few minutes a day: “... will reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and many other conditions.”

10-minute jump-start!

Start with moderate exercise sessions of about 10 minute.

Don't give up! Some exercise is much better than none:

Short sessions of exercise can improve increased burning (metabolizing) of blood sugar for up to 72 hours.

Get this exercise for even more help for

diabetics, and other energy creation and usage problems,

circulatory, heart (cardiopulmonary) conditions and

for the elderly -- who usually slow down (ie: too much).

Consider the small lifestyle changes which are also easier to stick with, and that provide lasting benefits, by persistent determination to (continue) such sessions.

Try these ways to make this into a habit and increase your activity gradually.

Buy an inexpensive pedometer. Many Americans take only 5000 steps a day.

Increase walking to 7000 or 8000 steps per day to reduce the risk of disease.

Figure out how many steps you make a day and then aim to gradually add at least 1000 steps in a week (150 per day), add more until you reach your daily goal.

Make some changes like:

Park farther away and walk from your parking place to shop at the store,

Go to a zoo, recreation area or a park on weekends with your kids or grandkids --

instead of sitting in a movie

Take a walk after breakfast or dinner. Some people walk in an air conditioned mall.

Find other great benefits that may be as profound as the physical ones. "It always amazes people to see how little activity it takes to feel better," Dr. Church says. And, be happier in as little as 10 minutes (today...).

New Habit, Interval Training to lose weight, get stamina

Lose weight possible much more quickly and get athletic stamina by interval training (this is not for building massive muscles)

Check with your doctor, and do this only as you have gotten into pretty good shape and have a healthy enough heart by following a fast walking program, etc.[2]. This is used by swimmers, track and cross country to get in greatest shape possible.

If you qualify, you will get into much better shape by doing interval training.

Later on after getting into shape with this interval program you can do 6 pack training, too.

Always, warm up first: for 5-10 minutes with a very fast walk or slow jog and learn to stretch -- Enjoy Yourself While Stretching.

Exercise is sprinting: all-out from 10 to 60 seconds to reach around 90% (85-95%) of your maximum safe heart rate, weight and overall conditioning.

Exercise for a very short time intervals of high speed effort and then an equally short rest interval: "on" and "off".

Rest to lower your heart's pulse rate to nearly normal. Repeat the effort and rest.

Rest by walking slowly, some stretching and other low impact movements to stay warm.

Rest for 1 to 2 minutes to recover to a moderate heart rate. Then go again.

Exertion is to stay at that 90% level for only 10 to 20 seconds.

Calculate Your Target Heart Rate for your fitness level. If your fitness is not good keep the highest effort down to just 10 seconds until you get a better tone, including better breath and lower your high blood by this cardiovascular conditioning.

Push only hard enough -- but only for your 90% heart rate for that 10 to 20 seconds. Do not maintain your high-intensity interval longer (even for the most highly trained athletes, only slightly longer for the desired result).

Repeat these intervals for 10 to 20 minutes at first (and increase it to only 20 minutes when you can do without fatigue): so that is 10 to 20 minutes depending on your heart rate and body fitness level.

Build six pack abs: by changing to abdominal training when you have slimmed down and are in good cardio shape by doing your intervals. Now it will be "abdominal intervals".

Tips

Suggested exercises should be confirmed and agreed with your medical doctor.

Reshape thinking to realize that it's "not-all-or-nothing" and it's not running or jogging that is necessary to begin helping your health.

Warnings

Merely walking a few minutes a day may not cause your weight to drop substantially without changing eating habits, but you may reduce risks of cardiovascular disease by walking, and see how it helps with anxiety, depression, diabetes, and many other conditions.

Sources and Citations

Emily Listfield, Parade Magazine, 08-09-2009

↑ www.parade.com "10 Minutes to Better Health"

↑ Wikipedia Interval Training

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How to Increase Your Metabolism

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you're trying to lose weight, increasing your metabolic rate can enable you to lose more weight without cutting more calories. The commercialism surrounding "metabolism-enhancing products" has made it difficult to separate fact from fiction (or advertising), but you can find a few research-based suggestions here.

Steps

Understand what metabolism is. In the simplest terms!, metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns calories. Very few people have a fast metabolism, and overweight individuals generally have slow metabolisms.[1] However, a faster metabolism will enable you to lose more weight than your friend, even if you both have the same activity level, diet, and weight.
Determine what is influencing your metabolism. There are some factors that you can control and change, and some factors that you can't.
- Age - Metabolic rate decreases five % per decade after age 40.[2]
- Gender - Men generally burn calories more quickly than women because they have more muscle tissue.[2]
- Heredity - You can inherit your metabolic rate from previous generations.[2]
- Thyroid disorder - Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland) can slow down or speed up metabolism, but only 3% and .3% of the population have hypo- and hyperthyroidism respectively.[3]
Calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is often used interchangeably with basal metabolic rate (BMR). Although they are slightly different, estimating either is sufficient for the purpose of losing weight. To calculate your RMR, use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (which is more reliable than the Harris-Benedict equation[4]). There are also calculators online that can do this for you:
- RMR = 9.99w + 6.25s - 4.92a + 166g-161
  - w = weight in kilograms; if you know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms
  - s = height in centimeters; if you know your height in inches, multiply by 2.54 to get your height in centimeters
  - a = age in years
  - g = gender = 1 for males, 0 for females
Adjust your diet accordingly. Your RMR will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest. Your daily consumption to maintain your weight should be:[5]
- RMR x 1.15
  - E.g. RMR = 2000, so the maintenance intake is 2000 x 1.15 = 2300
- To lose weight safely, do not exceed your maintenance intake or have a caloric intake lower than your calculated RMR.
- Count calories by recording what you eat and looking up how many calories each food item contains (either on the food packaging or in tables provided in books or online).
Eat small, frequent meals. Extending the time between meals makes your body go into "starvation mode," which decreases your metabolism as a means to conserve energy and prevent starvation. Skipping meals does not help you cut calories or lose weight; in fact, people generally eat less overall when they eat small, frequent meals. In addition to having four to six small meals per day[6], eating healthy snacks will also increase metabolism.[2]
Drink iced water. As with food, depriving your body of water can encourage it to "hoard" rather than "burn". When your drink ice cold water, your body burns calories warming it to body temperature. More than ninety percent of the chemical reactions in your body occur in water, so make sure you drink an appropriate amount of water.
Boost metabolism temporarily with aerobic exercise. Different activities burn different quantities of calories, but the important thing is to raise your heart rate and sustain the activity for approximately thirty minutes.
Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact)[2] so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise. This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.[7]

Tips

There are no "fat-burning" foods. You might've heard that certain foods (e.g. celery and grapefruit) increase metabolic rate, but it's just a myth.[6] While some foods and drinks such as red peppers and green tea have been studied for their potential metabolic rate increasing properties, there is no conclusive evidence that whatever influence they have on metabolism is significant enough to result in weight loss.[2] However, it has been proven that all foods do have what is called the thermic effect. Foods with protein have a 30% thermic effect, and are the most thermal of all foods. So that means if you eat a 100 calorie portion of meat, 30 calories from the food are required to break down the fibers in the protein and to properly digest it. Foods with higher amounts of fiber also have a high thermic effect. This is why people who eat 40% protein 40% carbohydrate and 20% mainly monounsaturated fat diets do very well, especially if they are carbohydrate sensitive and/or endomorphs.
Some sugar substitutes may adversely affect metabolism and weight loss.[8]
Very low-carb diets are said to burn more calories because the body expends energy changing fats and proteins into glucose. Glucose provides the energy for your body via a system of chemical reactions called the "krebs-cycle" or "tricarboxylic acid cycle."
Unless you are careful to choose whole foods naturally rich in vitamins, the low-carb approach may lead to vitamin deficiency. Some sources claim carbohydrates are necessary for absorption of vitamins. However, it is likely even standard low-carb diets provide enough, as some traditional food cultures like that of the Inuit are low in carbohydrates and do not result in deficiencies. Just to be safe, you may want to invest in supplements, though beware: many formulations are poorly absorbed under the best of conditions. Include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, by eating at least 2-3 portions of fish a week, or if you dislike fish take fish oil supplements. Drink eight 8-oz. glasses of non-carbonated water (including green tea, tea and coffee) per day.
Be careful with dairy products if you are following the Atkins diet. Milk and products made with milk contain lactose, a carbohydrate. Yogurt has natural milk sugars in addition to fruit and sweeteners such as sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup. Consider getting your calcium from cheese. Some cheeses may have nearly zero carbohydrates. Avoid low-fat dairy products. Whole milk has 11 carbs[9]; skimmed milk has 12.3 carbs.[10] Whole milk also provides the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA and is the most significant food source of CLA,[11][12] a heart-healthy fat that may help increase your metabolism, lose more fat, and build more muscle. [11] Short- and medium-chain fatty acids (especially those in coconut oil) have long been promoted for weight loss and can easily be burned for energy. In a nine-year study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, whole milk and cheese helped prevent weight gain in women who had one or more servings a day while low-fat milk did not.[13] Low-fat yogurt or low-fat ice cream may have more sugar to compensate for the loss of taste. Soy products can also be an excellent substitute for dairy while you are on the Atkins diet. Plain soy milk has seven net carbs and one gram of fiber.[14]
Always consult a dietitian or doctor before making a major change in your diet and exercise routine.

Warnings

Avoid smoking as a weight-loss method. While nicotine is a metabolism booster and appetite suppressant, the health hazards far outweigh any benefits.
Expect your metabolism to slow down as you lose weight. The more weight your body is carrying, the more calories your body has to burn in order to sustain itself, even at rest. When you begin restricting your calorie intake, you'll lose weight relatively easily because your body's high caloric needs are not being met. But after you begin to shed the weight, the body has less mass to carry and thus needs fewer calories. In order to continue losing weight, you will have to restrict your caloric intake even further in order to maintain a difference between what your body needs and what you are providing.[2] Let's go through a hypothetical example:
- You are 200 lbs and your body needs 2500 calories a day to sustain itself.
- You cut down your caloric intake to 2000 calories.
- You lose 25 lbs. Now your body only needs 2250 calories to sustain itself because it's carrying less weight.
- If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you will still be losing, but at half the speed. In order to maintain a steady weight loss you will need to reduce your caloric intake further. However, it is at the utmost importance you do not try to consume fewer calories than your RMR!
- Another possible problem: If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you may actually gain weight back because of varying levels of exercise. Let's say you lose 50 lbs. on your 2000 calorie diet. Your sustaining calories might be 1800. You're actually consuming enough calories to gain weight, but how would that happen if you had stayed on your diet? This can happen when your exercise has burned through many calories. If you slowed on exercise at this point you would actually gain weight again. The point here is to recheck your RMR when you lose weight and compare it to your consumption.
Don't overdo your diet or exercise program. Losing more than a pound a week can be detrimental to your health. As mentioned above, check with a physician or a nutritionist to determine what would be considered appropriate weight loss for your level of fitness before you start a new exercise or diet plan.
If you are pregnant or nursing, your caloric needs are increased. Speak to your doctor or midwife before restricting your diet or any specific food group.