Apr
13
Sleep, the best way to start a morning
Filed Under Healthy Habits | 1 Comment
To finish off our series about healthy mornings, I’m going to talk about something most of you aren’t getting enough off, sleep. Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our life. In fact, lack of sleep can have a serious detrimental effect on our lives.
Most people get by on about 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. I used to get about 4 to 5 hours. It’s doable, but it’s not healthy. When you don’t get enough sleep, you damage your body’s balance. All your systems start going haywire, including your metabolism.
Some people think they’re doing themselves a favor by not sleeping a lot, after all, you spend more calories awake than you do asleep. However, this is a common misperception encouraged by our society’s view of lying in bed as being lazy. Your body needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night (that number depends on your gender, age and daily activities). It also needs a regular sleep schedule and a comfortable sleeping environment. You may in fact spend less calories during those hours you’re sleeping, but in return, you have more energy during your waking hours. This allows you to spend more calories.
We’ve all been there, a long night spent partying or working followed by an early morning wake up call. You’re bleary eyed, slow to move and your physical shape could best be described as “sluggish”. You may stop noticing it at some point, but that’s going to be you all day. You’re going to be slow and inactive. Not only will you spend a lower amount of calories through your normal metabolism, but being tired will also affect you in other ways.
First, you’re less likely to be physically active. People tend to miss workouts when they’re tired. You’re not going to exercise when you’re barely awake. Second, you’re more likely to drink things like coffee and sodas. You need the caffeine perk to wake up, but it’s only an illusion that will last a short amount of time. Then you’ll need another shot of caffeine and calories. Finally, lack of sleep throws your hormones into an imbalance. One of those hormones tells your body when you’re not hungry. There are multiple studies that show when you don’t get enough sleep, your body does not produce enough of this hormone. So you tend to overeat even though your body isn’t really hungry.
So do your body a favor and get some good sleep. That means:
- 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Try to keep this amount constant.
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day if possible. Your body needs a regular schedule.
- Sleep in a quiet and dark environment. It’s not just about the quantity of sleep you get, it’s also about the quality. Noisy or lit areas can cause you to sleep badly.
- If you have problems falling asleep, try reading a few pages of a novel before bed. It’s a good way to relax. If you dislike reading, consider an iPod and some books on tape. The rhythmic nature of words is a good way to be lulled into sleep. By the way, loud music does NOT work, although soft music does.
- Do NOT turn your bed into a work area. Your body needs to think of your bed as a place for rest and nothing else.
- Don’t oversleep. This is just as bad as undersleeping. When you oversleep, you throw your whole sleep pattern off.
- Talk to your partner if you’re having issues sleeping well. For example, I’ve had problems sleeping for years, but I only realized why when my fiance told me I was snoring and occasionally suffering from sleep apnea to the point of waking myself up.
- If you find you have an issue with your sleep, do some online research. My snoring problem was easily solved through a minor sleep position change and some weight loss. It’s amazing how much information there is out on the web.
- If it’s a serious issue, consult with a doctor. I wasn’t about to gamble on the internet with something as potentially serious as sleep apnea, so I went to see a doctor. She recommended some possible remedies and worked with me to change my sleeping habits.
Above all, make sure you get a sufficient and consistent amount of healthy sleep every night. It’s one of the best and healthiest things you can do in the morning.
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Apr
12
We’ve been talking about healthy ways to start your day this week. We’ve covered what to eat, what to drink and what to supplement your morning with. Now we’re going to talk about a little bit of exercise.
Before we talk about what to do, I want to talk about exercise itself. Some people are afraid of exercise, they associate work outs with sweaty gyms, overmuscled men and steroids. That may be the stereotype, but it has very little to do with the workout routines of most normal people. The quick 5 minute work out I’m going to be describing here will not bulk you up, it won’t cause you to have those odd bulging veins and it won’t make you smell like a sweaty gym.
So what will this workout do? Well, to answer that we need to look at what workouts do for you in general. Here are the benefits of working out:
- Burn Calories - This should be on obvious one. As you work out, you’re using energy. This energy means calories burned. However, this isn’t the primary benefit of a workout. Even strenuous workouts with very heavy weights don’t burn that much calories compared to a good cardio session. You’re just not burning that much energy.
- Tone Up - Look at the people around you. You’ll see differences in body type. There are people who manage to be skinny without looking healthy and there are those who are not quite skinny but still have that incredible healthy look to them. For a good example of that, look at most athletes or dancers. None of them is super skinny but they all look really good. That’s the difference between being toned and being skinny. Skinny just means low body fat. Toned means relatively low fat with a high amount of muscles. That’s an important note for most women who are reading this. Working out will not make you a body builder. That’s a very specialized kind of work out which I am not talking about here. A good workout will just tone up your muscles, giving you that look that dancers, swimmers and other athletes have.
- Strength and Flexibility - A good work out will cover most areas of your body. It will increase your flexibility and your strength. These are two very important things, especially for some of you just now hitting your 30’s. Past your mid 30’s, our bodies start naturally losing muscle mass. That’s a normal part of aging. However, it can be reversed with a proper workout routine. There’s no need to grow less flexible and weaker as you grow older.
- Short Term Metabolism Increase - While a workout doesn’t burn many calories in and of itself, it does rev up your metabolism. Your body notices that you’re doing harder work than usual and responds by increasing your energy level. There are various studies that show metabolism levels can increase by 10 to 20% after a workout.
- Long Term Metabolism Increase - And here’s the even better part. Muscles burn a lot more energy than fat. I’ve seen studies that show a pound of muscle can burn between 20 to 50 calories a day. By way of comparison, a pound of fat burns about 1 calorie a day. That’s the amount of energy your body needs to sustain that piece of flesh. So if you add just 1 pound of muscle to your body through a mild workout routine, you just added 20 to 50 calories to your daily metabolic output. Multiply that by 365 days and you’ll see that a pount of muscle burns between 7300 to 18250 calories a year. To understand what this means, remember that your body uses fat as its fuel reserves. Each pound of fat fuel holds 3000 calories. So if you spend 3000 calories more than you eat, you’ll lose a pound of fat (that’s actually a simplification since your body does have some other sources of energy, but I’m not going to get into those details at the moment) So if you add 1 pound of muscle and don’t add to your food consumption, you will lose between 2.5 and 6 pounds of fat a year. And that’s why working out is one of the best things you can do to lose weight.
Ok, I’ve talked enough about why it’s important, now let’s talk about what to do. First, if you can afford it, invest in a decent set of dumbbells. There are some very cheap ones available like these from Amazon, Apex Polished Chrome Adjustable Dumbbell Set
Now, lets talk about the exercises themselves, we’re going to focus on nice, slow workouts, that we can easily and quickly in the morning. Remember that form is the most important thing in working out. So don’t get all wild when you do these. Keep your movements slow and controlled.
- First set - Lunges. These will work out your legs. Do five lunges with each leg.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBLunge.html - Second set - Squats. Great for the legs but we’re also moving up a bit and working on the butt. Yes ladies, even guys work on toning their butts :) Do ten of these.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSquat.html - Third set - Crunches. Your basic ab exercise. Ten of these. Note that the example video in the following link shows crunches being done with a weight and on a bench. You can just as easily do these on the floor and start out without the weight.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtCrunch.html - Fourth Set - Bent Over Rows. Another set of ten to work out your back. Again, the example video uses a bench and dumbbells but you can easily do the same thing using a chair and holding some books in your hand or a bottle of water.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html - Fifth Set - Ten dumbbell flies for your chest. Again, these are just fine to do on the floor as opposed to the workbench shown in the video.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBFly.html
That’s it, you’ve done your morning workout. If you do all of these with good form, which means slowly, and you take a 10 second break between each, you still won’t spend more than 5 minutes. But you’ll spend a bit of energy, stretch out and get your metabolism off to a nice high energy start. As you improve and this workout becomes easy, you may want to consider the following:
- Add more weight - This is good if you want to build bigger muscles. Most men choose a low number of reps with high weights.
- Add more reps - This is good if you just want greater tone. Most women choose a high number of reps with a low weight.
- Add more exercises - Add sets that will work on your shoulders, arms and other muscle groups we didn’t really touch here.
- Add a short cardio section - 25 jumping jacks, a minute of skipping rope and other such activities can be a great energy booster and a good addition to your morning workout.
One warning. If you have any serious injuries or medical conditions, please consult with a physical trainer or doctor before starting any workout routine. My fiance for example has a serious back injury from years ago. In no way would I recommend that she just start out with this morning workout without talking to a doctor first. For the rest of us, spend 5 minutes in the morning working on your body, you won’t regret it.
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Apr
11
Supplements
Filed Under Healthy Habits, Nutrition | 1 Comment
We’ve been discussing healthy mornings this week. We talked about what to eat and what to drink. One of the other things people do in the mornings is take supplements of various sorts. There a wide variety of supplements such as vitamins, calcium, protein and others. There’s also a lot of confusion about who should take what and the benefits of each type. So I’m going to try and clear some of that up using my own experience and research.
First, a little disclaimer. If you’re on some medically prescribed supplement regime, you should talk to your doctor before making any changes. There are many reasons why your doctor has you adding something to your diet and they’re usually good reasons. So if you are taking something by doctor’s orders, keep taking it and talk to your doctor before adding anything else.
In the meantime, take a quick look through any supermarket and you’ll find a whole bunch of small (and not so small) bottles offering you “a whole day’s worth of minerals!” “Vitamin C to fight off that cold!” or “everything an athlete needs!” and other such slogans. Are they really necessary and what happens if you do or don’t take them?
Vitamins - Vitamins are indeed necessary for your body. If you don’t get them, your body will be less efficient. Your metabolism will be slower. In fact, your body might tell you that it’s hungry if you’re suffering from a vitamin deficiency. that’s because your body is a very poor communicator. It can’t tell you “Hey Gal, I need more vitamin C!” It can just communicate through vague cravings. So for example, if you are low on certain vitamins you might get cravings for some foods. That’s one reason for the odd cravings during pregnancy. You need certain vitamins plus your body chemistry is a bit out of whack and so you end up thinking “wow, that peanut butter and pickles sandwich really sounds good!”
Unfortunately, most people don’t listen to their bodies very well. You have a craving for vitamins, most of which come from things like fruit and vegetables, but you end up eating a bowl of ice cream instead. Well, that orange sunday might taste like oranges but it doesn’t have what oranges have. So you just end up with more cravings. So that’s lesson #1, listen to your body a bit better. Lesson #2 is, your body NEVER craves ice cream or chocolate or anything like that. That’s you misinterpreting your body because it’s more fun to eat ice cream than it is to eat a piece of fruit or a salad. Finally, lesson #3 is, eat a healthy and balanced diet so you get all your vitamins and minerals and you won’t have to worry about all this.
The good news is that most food we get here in the US is fortified with a variety of vitamins already. So odds are you’re doing pretty well in this department. The even better news is that it’s very easy be absolutely sure you’re getting enough vitamins. Just take one vitamin supplement a day along with your breakfast and you’re fine. I do this and I eat a very balanced diet. So why do I do it? Well, because even a very balanced diet is not perfectly balanced and I don’t want to spend my means thinking “oh no! did I get enough b12 today?!?!” A vitamin supplement is cheap, easy and has no negative side effects. Don’t go for the complex supplements that have multiple pills for you to take every day. Get something simple like Centrum (Centrum Advanced Formula Multivitamin
Calcium - I’m separating this out from the vitamin supplements due to its popularity. You see ads for calcium everywhere. The TV tells you that calcium is good for aging bones. Magazines say it’s good for women. All this information makes it a bit hard to tell what’s right and what’s not. I’m a bit ambivalent about this. I tend to think most people get enough calcium in their diets already so I don’t take calcium supplements myself, but then again, I’m young and male. All the research shows that calcium supplements won’t hurt you, so I can’t see any harm in taking them, except to the wallet I suppose, but I would still consult with a doctor before adding calcium supplements to your diet.
Protein - This is the other big supplement, especially for people trying to get in shape. If you’ve ever visited a gym, you’ll see a wall full of protein supplements. All of them will tell you that you’ll gain muscles and lose weight if you consume them. Ignore the hype, most people get more than enough protein in their diets. In fact, most Americans get way too much protein in their diets due to our preference for meat. The only reason to add a protein supplement to your diet is if you’re a vegetarian like me. When I first started eating vegetarian I tried to measure my protein intake and I found out that it was a bit low. So I added a protein supplement to my morning routine. However, even vegetarians don’t have to do this. You could easily get enough protein in your diet through various legumes or eggs. I just choose to use the supplement for the same reason I take the vitamins, because I don’t want to have to worry about my protein intake during the day.
So there you have it. Most of you can add a healthy start to your day by simply adding a vitamin supplement. It’s a great addition to the healthy foods and drinks we discussed over the last two days. Enjoy!
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Apr
10
Morning Drinks
Filed Under Eating Healthy | Leave a Comment
No, this post is not about having a beer before 9am. Well, I suppose it is if that’s what you’re doing right now, but the real point of this post is what should you drink in the morning. Most people drink something with their breakfast. In fact, many of my friends and coworkers think of breakfast as just a drink. It could be a coffee or an orange juice, but you’d be surprised at how many people get their breakfast in a cup.
In fact, when I first started out on this whole path to being healthy, my initial plan for breakfast was a cup of milk or a glass of orange juice. Later on, I started looking at what I was consuming and did some calculations. I was interested in seeing how many calories I was consuming and what kind of return I was getting on those calories. Here’s what I came up with.
“Fresh” Fruit Juice - This sounds like a really healthy choice. We’re constantly bombarded with messages about orange and apple juices for vitamins or prune juice for digestion. I’ve even seen email messages going around saying lemon juice will make you burn more calories. The truth is that most fruit juices are not a healthy choice. Don’t get me wrong, they’re healthier than sodas but they’re not nearly as healthy as the TV commercials would make you think.
Most fruits are sugar, water and fiber with vitamins added in. That’s a very simplified view of fruit, but it will work for our discussion. Now take this fruit and squeeze the juice out of it. What do you have left? That’s right, you’re left with sugar and water and only some of the vitamins. To make matters even worse, the fruit juice you’re going to find at most supermarkets is going to have various additives in it. The manufacturers will add anything from preservatives to keep the freshness longer, to sugar for better flavor.
So don’t drink that glass of fruit juice. If you really have a craving for fruit in the morning then eat a piece of fruit. You’ll get less calories, more vitamins and more fiber. You’ll also feel fuller because you’ve actually eaten something as opposed to just drinking down some sugar water.
Not So “Fresh” Fruit Juices - By this I am referring to most powdered fruit juices and things like kool aid. Don’t even think about these as healthy. They’re nothing more than chemicals, water and sugar. In no way is this a healthy choice for breakfast.
Coffee - Ahh coffee, wake up of choice for tens of millions. I’ve never gotten into the coffee habit, but I see at least half of my coworkers arrive in the office with Starbucks cups or head immediately to the break room to fix themselves a cup. Coffee is bad for two reasons.
First, most people don’t even think about the amount of calories in coffee. They add all those wonderful toppings and creams and still think they’re just drinking coffee. However, there was a recent study that compared commercial coffees like Starbucks. They found that the average grande at one of these stores might have as many calories as THREE McDonald’s cheese burgers. That’s right, you just started out your day by downing three cheeseburgers. Even worse, your cheeseburgers had no protein, they were just fat. You’re better off starting your day with a couple of egg mcmuffins than a Starbucks grande latte. And since you already know that McMuffins are not healthy, why are you still drinking that coffee with the extra cream and two scoops of nutmeg?
Second, coffee contains caffeine. Ok, that sounds right, but you’re wondering, “why is that wrong? Caffeine perks me up and isn’t that good for my metabolism?” Well, the answer is no. Let’s get some things straight. Caffeine is a drug. In fact, it’s an addictive drug. There’s a reason you feel like you can’t get up in the morning and why you get a headache if you don’t have your coffee. It’s because you’re addicted to caffeine. Caffeine is also a stimulant. It’ll perk you up, but then it will send you crashing right back down. So instead of your metabolism humming along nicely at a good consistent rate, you keep crashing it up and down every hour.
I’m going to talk about caffeine and how to stop drinking it at a later date. Believe me, it’s not easy. It took me weeks to kick my caffeine habit. For now though, if you insist on drinking the stuff, at least minimize the damage. Drink your coffee black and with no sugar. If you really want to shape up your breakfast, then start kicking the habit altogether. Decaff, black, no sugar. Yes, it’s pretty much just coffee flavored water, but it’s good for you.
Tea - Very similar to coffee. Too much caffeine and most people add way too much sweeteners and other forms of sugar and fat to it. Some of the herbal teas are fine, but then you’re essentially drinking slightly scented/flavored water and I’m not quite sure why. But hey, if that’s your cup of tea… (sorry, I can’t resist a bad pun).
Milk - Milk is a bit like fruit juice. Yes, it has some good stuff in it, but it also has a lot of fat. If you’re not going to take a calcium supplement of some kind, then milk might be good for you, but there are better ways to get calcium. Also, if you are going to drink milk, then go for the low or non fat varieties.
We seem to have eliminated most of the choices and at this point you’re wondering “what’s left?” Ahh, but we still have the most perfect drink of all, water! Yes, that’s right. Water is the healthiest drink for you. No calories, no fat, no sugar and no caffeine. Yes, water does not have vitamins, but you know what? You shouldn’t be drinking your nutrition. You should be getting your vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat. So do yourself a favor, eat a healthy breakfast of the type I mentioned in my previous post and then drink a glass of water. It’s the best morning combination there is.
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Apr
9
Breakfast
Filed Under Eating Healthy | 4 Comments
To celebrate our new start here at 60 IN 3, I’m going to devote this week to starting out your day right. Most people dislike mornings. You’re tired, you want some more sleep and you definitely don’t want to head to work. Well, I can’t help you with work, but I can help make your mornings a bit better in other ways.
The first and most important part of the morning is breakfast. You just slept for 7 to 9 hours. You’ve had nothing to eat in that time and your body needs energy. You might be awake, but your body is still thinking about sleep and that means you’re a bit slow. You’re like an engine that’s running on fumes. You need some fuel to really rev up. So breakfast is a great opportunity to get your metabolism going and increase your energy level.
The problem is that most people skip most breakfasts and eat too much when they do have it. That was my problem too. I would usually skip breakfast and head straight to work. On days that I would eat something, it was usually multiple eggs, some bacon and a few pancakes. That’s worse than no food at all. When you overload your body this way it actually slows down your metabolism. Those grandslam breakfasts were killing me slowly, and they weren’t very healthy for my wallet either.
These days, I try to have a small and healthy breakfast each morning. Just enough to get me going but not enough to make me feel bloated and slow. If you’re a numbers person, you’re looking to get about 1/6 of your calories in the morning. For me, that means between 400 and 500 calories. Rather than count calories every meal, I just came up with a list of possibilities. So each day I eat something different. I never get bored and I never feel like I’m eating the same thing over and over.
Here’s my list of healthy breakfasts:
- Dried fruits and nuts - Careful not to overdo this one. Dried fruit and nuts have a surprising amount of calories in them. So be sure you know how much you should and shouldn’t eat. Also, try to stay away from the salted variety of foods. Too much salt is a bad way to start out your day.
- Piece of whole wheat toast with a bit of cheese on it and some vegetable like a tomato - I love cheese. It’s high in fat but ok in moderation. Plus there are so many varieties of it. You can try out a different type each morning and always feel like you’re eating something new. Stay away from butter or margarine though. The cheese is enough.
- One egg - Eggs are a great source of protein. One egg has about 210 calories in it. Like the cheese idea above, it can be eaten in a variety of ways. Hard boil it the day before if you want a quick breakfast or scramble it with some vegetables for a healthier meal.
- Whole wheat bread, hummus and a vegetable - This one is a little high in calories, so try not to overeat it, but it’s a great way to add some variety. Hummus is a middle eastern spread made from garbanzo beans. It’s healthy, but a bit high in fat. Try it with a tomato or maybe a cucumber.
- Breakfast wrap - One of my favorites. Take a small fajita (whole wheat if possible), put diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and spinach inside. Add a little bit of feta cheese and enjoy. It’s like the Greek version of a burrito but much healthier.
- Fresh fruit - If I’m really in a hurry, I’ll just grab a couple of pieces of fruit. Bananas, apples, oranges, pears, they all make a great breakfast.
LIST 1
Some of you might be asking, “what about cereals?” Well, I’m not a big fan of cereals. The good ones don’t taste very good and the bad ones are not much more than sugar. In general, when something is sugary it’s usually a warning sign that it’s not very healthy. That goes for cereal bars, granola bars, “fruit” yogurts, morning smoothies and a whole lot of other items that food industry would like to sell you. Take a look at the ingredients and you’ll see that a lot of that sweetness comes from stuff like high fructose corn syrup or plain sugar. Those are not exactly healthy ingredients.
So start your day off right, eat something healthy and come back tomorrow for more information on healthy breakfasts.
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Apr
8
How to change your life
Filed Under Motivation | Leave a Comment
A few years ago I found myself overweight, out of shape and in dire need of a change. I had never been an athlete, but I was relatively active before and through college. I would hike, bike and walk everywhere. I enjoyed food but I had enough physical activity to compensate.
After graduation I found a job and discovered the Internet. I spent my time in front of a computer, either working or playing. Going out with friends meant going to eat or maybe to a movie. I ate just as much but I was completely inactive. At my lowest point, I was 270lbs and out of breath after a single flight of stairs.
Those stairs were a wake up call. They told me that I was ruining my health and I needed to change. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to do what I knew needed to be done. I read a lot of books, researched on the internet and talked to friends. Each source was full of advice and useful information but it was all so confusing. I didn’t know what worked and what didn’t. I would try some diet, lost a bit of weight and then see it all come back later. I spent a year just figuring out what I needed to change. Only then did I start seeing results.
That’s what I’m hoping to help you, my audience, with. I’ve gone through all this and I think I can prevent you from making all the wrong turns I did. I’m not a doctor, a professional athlete, a nutrition specialist or a physical trainer. I’m just a normal guy who works long hours, has an active social life, a wonderful fiance and still manages to stay healthy.
The first thing you need to understand is that this is not a temporary change. If you’re thinking that this is a “diet” or some “three month workout regime”, then you might as well stop now. Those work for exactly as long as you stay on them and once you quit, the weight comes back, the muscles go away and you’re back where you started. This is a life change, pure and simple. You are about to start making changes that will have a permanent effect on your life.
Second, you are NOT going to go from fat to fit in a day or a week or a month or maybe even a year. It’s taken me three years so far to shape up and I’m still not quite where I want to be. It’s a gradual process. You’ll be making small steps each day but they’ll add up. You will not see that scale count down a lb each day, but you will see small changes. Clothes that were tight will start getting loose. Meetings you once slept through you’ll now have energy to pay attention to. You might even make it up those stairs without going out of breath.
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Apr
8
Hello world!
Filed Under Announcement, Web Site | Leave a Comment
Welcome back to 60 IN 3. We’ve made some software changes so things will look a bit different. Over the next few days we’ll be recreating some of the old content while writing new posts. Thank you for your patience.
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