Category: Weight Loss Exercise

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Weight Loss Exercise

Breathing exercises

Breathing is as you already know a very important action. All of us tend to breath very shallow and during any kind of exertion we will find that our chest gets sore because of a lack of stretching of our chest breathing deeply.

There are many benefits to proper breathing experts say it reduces the effects of stress, a leading cause of physical woes. Slow, deep breathing can lower blood pressure, end heart irregularities, improve poor digestion and decrease anxiety.

  1. Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair, maintaining good posture. Your body should be as relaxed as possible. Close your eyes. Scan your body for tension.

  2. Pay attention to your breathing. Place one hand on the part of your chest or abdomen that seems to rise and fall the most with each breath. If this spot is in your chest you are not utilizing the lower part of your lungs.

  3. Breathe in through your nose.

  4. Notice if your chest is moving in harmony with your abdomen.

  5. Now place one hand on your abdomen and one on your chest.

  6. Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose into your abdomen. You should feel your abdomen rise with this inhalation and your chest should move only a little. Do this inhaling for a count of 2

  7. Hold your breath and hold it for a count of 8

  8. Exhale through your mouth, keeping your mouth, tongue, and jaw relaxed. Let the exhale last for a count of 4.

  9. Of course these breath numbers are based on taking a comfortable deep breath. The ratio of 1:4:2 is

the number of breaths that you are looking for and you should try to do this breathing method for 10 cycles 3 times per day. If this is not convenient you can also do breathing while commuting, watching TV or even in a meeting as long as your breathing is not distracting to others

This may seem a lot like the breathing that we do for meditation and it is somewhat related. The one thing that is different is that this should be a way of retraining ourselves to breathe better all of the time.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Healthier choices at the Grocery Store

I found the following weblog article that is a must read before you next go to the grocery store:

Some Healthier Choices at Your Grocery Store

Some Healthier Choices at Your Grocery Store
Here are a few changes you can make the next time you go grocery shopping, to improve your health.

Think Fresh

Buy fresh fruits and vegetables as much as possible. If you cannot find them fresh, chose frozen fruits and vegetables. If you buy canned fruit, make sure you get it packed in it’s own juice without added sugar or corn syrup.

Juices

Look for juices that are 100% juice. Many bottled and frozen juices contain more sugar than fruit juice. If you use a juicer, be sure to retain some of the healthful pulp. If possible, eat whole fruits for optimum nutrition.

Oils

Chose extra virgin olive oil or canola oil. Try an olive oil cooking spray instead of butter for cooking. Avoid margarine and lard.

Milk

If you drink milk, chose milk with a lower fat content. If you are already drinking 2%, switch to 1%, and eventually use non-fat milk.

Breads

Select whole grain breads rather than white.

Miscellaneous

Much of the food found in the grocery store contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, MSG and artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. All of these ingredients are poor choices, and should be avoided whenever possible.

Many breads, cereals, soups, and boxed side dishes contain one or more of these ingredients. Take a little extra time to read the label, to find brands without these undesirable additives. For Example, Farmhouse brand makes rice and noodle side dishes without MSG or other additives, and Healthy Choice foods are generally free of unnecessary additives.

Discover healthier choices at your local grocery store. If your grocery store doesn’t have the brands or foods you want, ask the manager to consider stocking them. [Copyright © 2005 World Image Naturals, Inc. www.worldimage.com ]

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Artificial Colors
  • Related Blogs on Canned Fruit
Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Aerobic Fitness declines with age

Ran into this interesting article from Reuters:

Jul 26 (Reuters Health) – Physical fitness is known to wane with age, but a study published Monday shows that the decline gains speed with each decade, regardless of a person’s exercise habits.
The study of 810 healthy adults found that the rate of decline in aerobic fitness was about four times greater among people in their 70s or older, compared with those in their 20s and 30s.

Despite the fact that it boosts aerobic fitness, regular exercise did not change a person’s rate of age-related decline.

However, that does not mean it’s time to retire those running shoes, according to the study authors.

At any given age, people who were at least moderately active were more fit than their sedentary peers, said lead author Dr. Jerome L. Fleg of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

In addition, he told Reuters Health, research shows that older people can improve their aerobic capacity by getting regular, moderate exercise like walking. The point, according to Fleg, is to help elderly people stay fit enough to perform daily activities — like housework or yard work — and maintain their independence as long as possible.

Fleg and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health report their findings in Circulation, a medical journal published by the American Heart Association.

The study looked at changes over time in individuals’ VO2max, a measure of aerobic fitness that refers to how much oxygen the body uses during a given activity. The VO2max is the point at which the body can no longer ramp up its oxygen use to keep up with the intensity of the exercise, and the activity rapidly becomes unsustainable.

It’s well known that a person’s VO2max declines with age. But the rate of that decline, Fleg explained, has not been clear-in large part because studies on the subject have typically compared different age groups rather than following the same people over time.

His team’s study included healthy men and women between the ages of 21 and 96 who periodically underwent treadmill tests to gauge their VO2max. The researchers also charted changes in participants’ blood pressure, body composition and lifestyle habits, over an average of eight years of follow-up.

In general, the study found, VO2max declined by 3 to 6 percent per decade while people were in their 20s and 30s. The rate of decline increased with age, going above 20 percent per decade among adults in their 70s or older.

The “good news,” Fleg said, is that active people maintained a higher VO2max than sedentary people their age, pointing to the importance of staying active throughout life.

He noted that older, sedentary adults who want to boost their fitness should consult their doctors before starting to exercise, as should anyone with heart disease.

SOURCE: Circulation, August 2, 2005.
Publish Date: July 26, 2005