Lower Blood PressureDr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 2
Here are more of the questions and answers from my interview with Dr. Mark Houston in February 2010.
Continue readingHeart Health4 Heart Healthy Habits to Cut Chronic Disease Risk 78%
The U.S. Center for Disease Control has identified four lifestyle factors that can drastically reduce your risk of chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Continue readingLose WeightBest Weight Loss Plan – Team Member #3
All right, we’ve covered two critical members of your weight loss team – your doctor and your nutritionist. We’re ready to talk about weight loss team member #3.
Personal Trainer
Healthy eating and physical activity go hand-in-hand if you want to successfully lose weight. But, how much cardio do you need? Should you be lifting weights? How often do you need to workout? How long do you need to workout? A personal trainer can design a fitness routine and make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly.
Meeting with a personal trainer can be pricey, but there are alternatives – phone and/or internet coaching for half the cost (or less). There are many programs online that allow you to enter information and download workout routines based on your information. Many programs also allow you to track your progress. For best results, I encourage you to consult with a trainer in person for one or two appointments. This will allow you to have a fitness assessment and time to discuss your goals with your trainer. The trainer will also go through the recommend workout routine with you to make sure you understand all activities and are using the correct form and technique. After this, you can check-in with your trainer via phone or email to monitor program and answer questions. Some trainers even review video footage of workouts.
Don’t worry that working with a trainer means you have to have a gym membership. Trainers can develop a program for you at a gym or based in your home. You can get in a great workout anywhere – gym, home, park, etc.
Another lower cost option would be group training in which a small number of people work with a trainer at one time.
Just as with a nutritionist, make sure your trainer is qualified and has a current certification from a respected organization, such as the American College of Sports Medicine.
Weight Loss Team Member #1
Weight Loss Team Member #2
Weight Loss Team Member #4
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently
Heart HealthAge and Exercise – Are you too old to exercise?
A Swedish study followed 2,205 men for over 20 years looking at age and exercise. The study found death rates to be highest among men who were sedentary at the start of the study and lowest for the most active men. Interestingly, men who began an exercise program at age 50 had decreased the risk of death after 10 years of being active to the level of those who had always been active.
Let’s see if I can say that another way. . .if you have been sedentary all your life and begin a physical activity program “late”, you can still reap the benefits and decrease your risk of death to the same level as those who’ve always lived a physically active lifestyle. It’s never too late to start!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
Lose WeightHeart Health – How hard do you need to workout?
To achieve health benefits, it is recommended that we include 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 days each week. Well, what exactly is considered moderate intensity?
San Diego State University recently studied the effect of different exercise intensity levels to determine how fast someone needs to walk to be exercising at a moderate intensity level. Researchers monitored cardiac exertion of walking at different rates in 97 healthy adults on a treadmill. It was determined that a moderate intensity level is equal to 3 METs, which is a measurement of the bodies oxygen needs. This converted to 92-102 steps per minute for men and 91-115 steps per minute for women.
By grabbing a pedometer and watch on your next walk, you can check to see if you are hitting the goal of ~100 steps per minute to reap the health benefits. And if not, you’ll know you need to increase your speed!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Be Heart Healthy and Lose Weight
Heart HealthReduce Heart Failure with Weight Loss and Activity
The Physician’s Heart Study followed over 21,000 between the ages of 40 and 84 for over 20 years. They found a significant link between weight, activity, and heart failure I want to share with you.
Both weight and physical activity were independently linked to risk of heart failure.
Weight
Having a high BMI increased heart failure risk in both active and sedentary men. For every additional 7 pounds on a man 5 foot 10 inches tall, risk for heart failure increased 11%.
Physical Activity
Vigorous physical activity reduced heart failure risk in lean, overweight, and obese men. Men that exercised vigorously only 1-3 times a month reduced their heart failure risk 18%. The more frequent and vigorous the exercise the greater the benefit. Very active men, exercising vigorously 5-7 days per week reduced heart failure risk 36%.
The combined risk of obesity and physical activity is substantial. When compared to lean men who were vigorously active 1-3 each month risk of heart failure increased 19% for men that were lean (BMI less than 25), but inactive, 49% in overweight active men, 78% in overweight inactive men, 168% in obese active men, and 293% in obese inactive men.
Tired of changes that don't last?
Key point I want you to take from this post:
This study shows a little activity has substantial benefits. By being vigorously active just 1-3 days each month you can cut your risk 18%.
Get moving!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD