Your Home Health Care

Exercise: it’s one of the easiest things in the world to do (really, at the simplest level it’s just moving around). But given the way people talk about it, it’s everything but simple. Between gym memberships, expensive home workout machines, elaborate exercise programs, personal trainers, is it any wonder that many people think of exercise with about as much fondness as they think of their next dental appointment?



Of course, it doesn’t have to be as involved as all that. There’s a form of exercise that many of us already do, day in and day out, which is as easy as walking. As a matter of fact, it is walking.



Walking: Exercise in Camouflage



Walking is a near universal opportunity to burn a few more calories every day, everywhere we choose to go. It is the most basic exercise. We move muscles, and those muscles burn calories as we go. But it’s such an automatic thing to do that we often forget the benefits that a good walking routine can provide us. So, lets’ take a look at five quick ways we can take advantage of our walking habit without going out of our way.



Step 1 – Walk Faster



Moving around requires the body to burn energy, which is stored in the body as fat cells. When you’re exercising, the body burns up its reserves of energy to power your muscles as they do the work they need to do. The more work done, the more energy burned, and speeding up the process can increase the amount of energy consumed.



For example, consider your daily walk to the mailbox. Say you burn an easy five calories on the way out and back. If you walk twice as fast, you may double that calorie burning without any other major steps. Do this all day, wherever you go, and you’ve found a way to make walking work for you without going to any particularly special steps.



Step 2 – Stairs Are Great



Elevators are a wonderful thing. As much as steel and reinforced concrete, elevators are what have made the modern skyscraper not just possible but reasonable. Yet, by their very nature they deprive us of an opportunity to burn a few extra calories by taking the stairs. Going up stairs burns even more calories than just walking, because you’re not only moving forward, but lifting some of your body weight as well.



Now, no one is suggesting that someone working on the top floor of a high rise take the stairs all the way up. That’s a bad use of time and you’ll be exhausted when you get there. However, if stairs are available, consider taking two or three flights of them up, then catching the elevator the rest of the way. Again, regularly taking small steps outside of the normal can give you a lot of benefits when added up over time.



Step 3 – Walk and Talk



We do a lot of talking on the phone, and a great deal of it is done sitting down. This was understandable with corded telephones and the earliest cord-free phones, but with many homes switching entirely to cordless and/or cellular, there is a golden opportunity to get a bit more exercise with every phone call.



Simply put, go take a short walk when someone calls you. If you have a yard or sidewalk, head outside and walk around while you’re talking if you can. If the weather doesn’t permit, stroll around inside your house a bit. Once again, this isn’t about taking a walk as an extra activity, but adding it to one you’re probably already doing quite a bit.



Step 4 – Walk Further



We’ve all done it. We know the shopping center’s in easy walking distance, but we just don’t feel up to it and take the car that half mile or quarter mile down the road to get what we need, even if it’s just a gallon of milk. But those are valuable steps you could be taking that could help you get into shape. Some experts recommend taking at least 10,000 steps per day. So, find short trips that you can make without the car, and see if you can include at least one of them a week to start with. And when you do need to drive, pick a further spot in the parking lot to easily add in a few more steps.



Step 5 – Walk Together



As we’ve said before, one of the easiest steps you can take is including a friend in your efforts. Walking is easy, and doesn’t take up a lot of mental effort, so it’s a great time to socialize. Get a friend, set a brisk pace, and spend twenty minutes catching up together every other day. You get the calories burned and time with a friend, both for just a fraction of your day.



Walking is a great way to take control of your life to help you lose weight. In many cases, it can be added to things you’re already doing rather than requiring a whole new regime. Additionally, the health benefits from walking can help you pave the way for bigger steps later on, building a strong foundation that can pay off magnificently in the future.

You shouldn’t be hungry. You’ve just had lunch an hour ago, and it was a substantial meal. You had good portions and you ate until you were almost full, but you’re definitely feeling like having something more. Maybe nothing big, a snack or a bowl of cereal, but you definitely want to eat something. This is a classic case of having a craving, and it’s one of the most frustrating challenges people have to battle while trying to lose weight.



An overactive appetite isn’t easily ignored. It can be distracting and irritating until it’s satisfied and so many people give in ‘just the once,’ only to eventually form craving-oriented habits that sabotage their efforts to eat well and maintain a healthy weight.



I’m Hungry!



Well, are you really? Food cravings often are not the same as genuine hunger. There are a number of factors that determine whether you actually feel hungry or just desire a certain taste or boost. The key lies in determining the difference between physical hunger and a mental craving.



Hunger is marked by physical symptoms. Your body is telling you it needs something to keep your system running properly. These symptoms include:

• Emptiness or tightness in the stomach, frequently accompanied by growling.

• Dizziness or trouble focusing.

• Exhaustion.



These symptoms do not respond to waiting or distraction, but continue to intensify until you have eaten sufficient food to correct the imbalance.



By contrast, cravings are marked by primarily emotional and psychological criteria, such as:

• Desire to eat something with a specific taste.

• Wanting to eat something to unwind, as a reward, or for comfort.



Causes of Cravings



Genuine hunger is caused by genuine need – your body lacks vital nutrients, and will continue to tell you so until these needs are met and it can continue to function. Cravings, on the other hand, tend to be caused by a number of non-vital but nonetheless important stimuli.



For example, hormone imbalances can lead to hunger cravings. The body’s primary boosting hormone is serotonin, which is part of what leads to feelings of happiness and satisfaction. If the body is low on this hormone for any reason, including exhaustion, depression, pre-menstrual syndrome, or menopause, it could look for a substitute in sugar, which tends to provide a quick energy boost. Cravings also grow out of (and into!) habits. If you’re used to having a late night dish of ice cream and then stop in an attempt to control your weight or blood sugar, your body will be used to the routine and may trigger a craving for the snack at your usual time.



Craving Control



First, you need to understand that having cravings does not mean you have poor willpower. In many cases, they’re not about willpower at all. They’re often just an emotional response to factors influencing your mental state. So don’t start with personal recriminations, instead focus on ways you can make things easier for yourself.



As with any effort to gain self-control, it is more efficient to replace bad habits with good habits than to simply try to drop the old habit. Consider that late night bowl of ice cream we mentioned earlier. This is a case of habitual cravings and snacking, and maybe it would be hard to just cut it out. Consider instead having a warm mug of a sweet herbal tea with a little bit of honey. This gives your body the ‘sweet’ taste it wants, as well as filling your belly with something to tide you over, but without the concentrated calories of the ice cream.



This substitution principle can work out well in general – keep healthy snacking alternatives on hand, and try to reduce portions. Instead of munching through a bag of chips, try eating a small serving of healthy nuts with a tall glass of water, then waiting and seeing if the craving abates.



Consider these other craving-taming techniques:

• Incorporate additional healthy habits into the rest of your routine, so that cravings will become less pronounced.

• Eat high fiber foods, because these add bulk and a sense of fullness for a longer period of time.

• Make sure your body is getting good nutrition in general, as a healthy body is less likely to mix up signals and send false cravings.

• Exercise and socialize, to make sure your mental state is kept up and you don’t feel as stressed. Many cravings are a stress reaction, and keeping a healthy mental balance can certainly help.



Taking control of cravings is an important step in changing from unhealthy habits to healthy ones, and it can be daunting. However, it is a challenge that can be met one step at a time, in small degrees. Don’t beat yourself up for the cravings; instead, look at them for what they are, and know that you can take positive steps to keep them under YOUR control, where they belong.