Do you struggle with consistency in healthy eating? Do you have a hard time aligning your behavior with your good intentions long-term?
I want to share a powerful insight with you. It’s a statement that I repeat often because it’s a statement that can open your eyes to why you struggle.
“Why you eat determines what you eat.”
On the surface it seems very simple, but it holds the key to unlocking so much about the food choices you make.
Manufacturers design processed, hyper-palatable foods to hijack your brain chemistry on purpose. They create the perfect combination of sugar, salt, and fat to light up the reward and coping centers of your brain, knowing that you will continue to reach for these foods over and over again.
This is why committing to real food is a critical step in your journey to success. Real food doesn’t hijack your brain chemistry and send your hormones flying in all different directions. In fact, it does the opposite. This makes real food a very ineffective coping mechanism.
Here’s where the psychology of all this comes into play. If your life is full of stress and disorder and you don’t have a healthy, productive way of handling those stressors, your brain will beg for a coping mechanism to protect itself. Processed, hyper-palatable food is a fast, cheap, and easy coping tool.
On the flip side, if you’re in a great place in life mentally and emotionally and you’ve done significant work to mitigate stress, increase margin, and arm yourself with tools to handle the rest of the stress in a healthy way, you will not need the coping ability of processed, hyper-palatable foods.
Why you eat determines what you eat. If you’re eating to cope, you will choose the coping foods: processed, hyper-palatable garbage. If you’re eating to nourish your body and continue your snowball of success, you will choose real, whole foods. Your brain doesn’t seek out real food when you’re in a high stress, disordered state. It seeks out the food that will promote the release of feel-good neurotransmitters.
To complicate this further, I want you to notice that environments that lead to a high stress state are also where processed, hyper-palatable foods are found in abundance, e.g. the workplace.
So what’s the takeaway?
If you want to change your eating patterns, stop trying to consciously change your eating patterns. Instead, work to eliminate stress triggers and work to acquire the psychological tools to respond to stress in a healthy, productive way.
This is what I mean when I talk about changing your relationship with food. What you’re left with is a state of mind that is nourishment-focused rather than drug-focused. A state of mind that is not susceptible to being manipulated by food manufacturers. A state of mind that is almost effortlessly consistent.
Tag: body
Every so often I see someone in the gym in a full-on sweat suit, complete with hoodie over their head, pouring out so much sweat it makes me hot just looking at them. Even sitting in a sauna wearing nothing but a swimsuit is pretty miserable in my opinion, much less exercising in those kinds of conditions.
Needless to say, people’s desperation to lose weight continues to fuel all kinds of crazy fads. The latest one is sweating it out. Ways to increase the heat and get your sweat on include wearing traditional sweats, plastics sweat suits (also called sauna suits), sweat belts and even wearing garbage bags. Listen, the only time I’ve ever run wearing a plastic garbage bag is when I didn’t have an umbrella, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Call me crazy, but wearing any of those things during a workout seems like torture.
So, why are people so eager to sweat it out? Their goal is to lose weight, but does sweating more really help?
How It Works
Sweating it out in clothing that makes you sweat more is nothing new. Athletes, like bodybuilders, boxers and mixed martial arts fighters, have been using this trick to make weight for years. The idea is to maintain increased body heat throughout the workout.
In normal circumstances, your body uses sweat as a cooling system to help regulate your body temperature. When your body gets to a certain temperature, your sweat glands begin to produce sweat. The cooling affect begins as the sweat evaporates off your skin.
If the body is wrapped in thick clothing or plastic, sweat is unable to evaporate and the cooling system fails. Your body will then continue to produce sweat in attempt to regulate body temperature. The end result is sopping wet clothes and a lot of fluid lost.
Will you weigh less after running in a 30-gallon multipurpose garbage bag? Yes, but the weight loss is simply from a loss of fluids – not fat. It is a very temporary weight loss, and is not a healthy weight loss at all. Your body weight will go right back up as soon as you eat or drink again.
Pros & Cons
If you need to lose weight very fast, sweating off the pounds works like a charm. My husband drove three hours to a bodybuilding competition in sweats with the seat warmers on and heat on full blast (in the middle of the summer) to make weight for a bodybuilding competition. It was the most miserable ride of my life but he made weight and won his class.
While sweating the weight off is a necessary evil in some sports, the risks outweigh the benefits for traditional exercise. Since your body is approximately 75% water, and requires ample fluids for your body to function properly, this kind of dehydration can be detrimental to your health.
In case you aren’t completely convinced yet, losing this amount of water and electrolytes can cause heat exhaustion, which can then lead to cardiac arrest. This is not something anyone should take lightly or try without supervision. Unless you are an athlete who has to make weight to compete, I’d say you should put the trash bag back in the garbage can.
Let’s be honest here. People don’t just want to lose weight, they want to lose fat. Everyone, in my opinion, should stop using the title ‘weight loss programs’ and start calling them ‘fat loss programs’. Losing excess fat should be the goal, not losing any kind of weight at all. Fat is unattractive. It’s bumpy, flabby, unshapely and downright unhealthy. Water, on the other hand, is essential for your health.
The truth is, if something sounds too good to be true it normally is. Weight loss is more than what you wear, but more about what you do. The only safe way to really lose unwanted pounds, and lose it for good, is to decrease calories (while improving the quality of food choices) and increase activity.
The good news is you don’t have to look absolutely ridiculous wearing a sweat suit to your gym in the middle of the summer. And, the more comfortable you are during the workout, the more likely you are to stick with it.
The Bottom Line: Fit or Flop?
So, when it comes to exercise attire, stay cool and wear what you feel good in. Have fun with your fitness fashion and save your sweats for the winter. While some fitness fads are worth trying, sweating it out is a big fat flop.
FIT TIP:The American Council of Exercise recommends drinking 16-24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost in exercise. Not sure how much you lose working out? Just for kicks, try weighing yourself before and after your workout.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion:
Confusion
Dizziness
Fainting
Fatique
Pale Skin
Profuse Sweating
Dark-colored urine
Headache
Muscle Cramps
Rapid Heartrate
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Before I was a runner myself, I always pictured runners to be incredibly perfect athletic specimens, the kind you would see on the cover of a Wheaties box. I would picture myself as a runner, and envision a relaxed yet coolly stern face that never showed a grimace of discomfort, paired with strong lungs that courageously battled long distances without skipping a beat. I’d imagine myself perfectly decked out in coordinated athletic apparel that highlighted my muscular, tanned arms and legs. My hair would be slicked back in a perfect ponytail, with just the smallest bit of sweat glistening on my forehead, enough to demonstrate my true grit.
Yes, in my head, I was ready to grace the cover of Runner’s World magazine.
But then I actually became a runner. And I realized that running was not nearly as glamorous as I had made it out to be in my head. In fact, running can be downright disgusting.
In the past 9 years of my running career, I’ve found myself not only doing things that would normally be considered gross, but I’ve used the term “don’t’ worry, I’m a runner, I’m used to it” to excuse other people’s equally as disgusting behavior in front of me.
If you’re still reading at this point, I’m going to assume you are ready to hear some examples. So brace yourself, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Snot. The word alone makes me cringe. But then again, so does the scientifically correct term “mucous”, so I digress. In my normal day to day activities, a runny or stuffy nose would be met appropriately with a tissue in the privacy of a bathroom. But not on the run. Oh no, when the nose starts to act up during a run or a race, all bets are off. Any item can be used as a tissue when needed, including but not limited to: your sleeve, your glove, your t shirt, or basically any piece of clothing that can easily reach your nose.
But, one of the more popular methods for dealing with an angry nose is the “snot rocket”, also known as the “farmer’s blow”. In this method, a runner uses a finger to push on the outside of the non offending nostril, thus closing the nostril off. Take a deep breath through your mouth and push that air out forcefully through the clogged nostril. In theory, all of the “matter” clogging up that nostril will go shooting out of your nose and hopefully onto the ground (and not on one of your nearby running buddies.)
The Bathroom. If anyone had told me years ago that one day I’d find myself squatting in the barely private bushes to pee while hundreds of other runners passed by, I would have never believed it. But it happens to nearly all of us at some point in our running career.
The truth is, all of that water makes you have to urinate…a lot…and not always at the most convenient time. Even worse, running does some crazy things to your digestive system, often making your bowels angry. And when you’ve got to go and there are no port-a-potties around, you do what is necessary.
Speaking of port-a-potties, there comes a point where they no longer gross you out as much as they once did, and instead you find yourself thankful for their refuge…even if there is no toilet paper. It sure beats squatting behind a bush, or worse, peeing in your shorts.
Puking. Throwing up in public? How incredibly embarrassing! Except on the sidelines or at the finish line of a really hard race, where it is both a rite of passage and a sign that you gave that race everything you had. Then puking suddenly becomes a (disgusting) badge of courage.
Blisters and Black Toenails. Despite your best efforts to prevent them, blisters and black toenails are going to happen. And if that’s not gross enough, you’ll find yourself eventually popping those blisters and pulling off the dead toenails without hesitation. Besides, they often inhibit your training, and no one has time for that!
Sweat. In and of itself, sweat isn’t so bad. In fact, sweat is to be expected from someone who is running for an extended period of time. But how about going out for a run, dripping in sweat, and then remaining in those clothes for hours after? Or better yet, putting your sweaty self into a van full of other sweaty runners, for 36 hours or more during a multi day relay? Yeah, we gross runners do that.
So needless to say, the truth is despite our calm, cool, and collected looking exterior, runners can be pretty gross. But if you ask any one of us, these moments of disgusting behavior social faux-pas are absolutely worth it for the sport we love so much!
Take a look around at your local Starbucks. Or the mall. Or your grocery store.
No, I mean actually pick your head up, currently glued to your smartphone screen, and look. We are all buried in our phones and tablets — all day, everyday — and it’s becoming a very real pain in the neck.
The Vision Council estimates that 93.3 percent of adults spend upwards of two hours per day using some sort of a gadget — and more than six in 10 spend five hours per day. Spinal surgeon Dr. Kenneth K. Hansraj cites similar stats in his research from late 2014: we’re spending an average of two to four hours a day with head hunched over a phone — which equates to 700 to 1400 hours a year. Cumulatively, you’re looking at a recipe for neck pain and spine-alignment issues.
Consider this. “An adult head weighs 10 to 12 pounds in the neutral position,” writes Hansraj in his paper, published in Surgical Technology International. “As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck surges to 27 pounds at 15 degrees, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45 degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees.”
That’s a lot of gravity. Imagine six bowling balls stacked on your neck. Or six Thanksgiving turkeys. Or six watermelons. (I know, my neck hurts, too.)
Docs and researchers are calling this 21st-century problem “tech neck” or “text neck.” And unfortunately, there’s not a cure-all for that problem — which is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States.
Your best bet is avoiding the issue all together, if possible — and that doesn’t necessarily mean going on a complete gadget cleanse. Here are some of the ways to beat text neck:
Stretch your neck. Sounds pretty easy, right? Don’t mindlessly get lost in that viral vid or online article, but be mindful enough to realize when your neck is getting stiff. “If you have neck pain, whether it started two days ago or two weeks ago, one of the best things you can do is gently move and stretch your neck muscles,” says Dr. Pierre Côté, an epidemiologist at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, who conducted a study on neck pain fixes last year. I’ve talked to spinal surgeons, who’ve confirmed this tip: just move it, move it. (Gently. Every once in a while.)
Get gadgets to eye level. Take a cue from Hansraj’s study: the less you tilt your neck, the less stress you put on your spine. So, get your gadgets as close to eye level as possible while you’re perusing online. If you’re at home, you can even get a stand for your tablet or smartphone. Finally, let’s say you’re standing in line somewhere, and can’t get your gadget to exact eye level. The closer you can get, the less weight gravity will exert. So, just do your best. With all those hours accumulating, small daily changes count.
Make some changes. As someone who works in media, I know how hard it can be to put down the smartphone. I mean, Twitter updates! Snapchats! Emails… ? Sigh. It’s exhausting. For sanity’s sake, and to avoid that pain in your neck, shut down for a bit. These days, from at least around 6 pm to 10 pm, I try to avoid staring at a gadget screen. I avoid phone pings. Instead, I work out, do something social, make a nutritious dinner, Netflix something (at eye level!), so on and so forth. Also, let’s talk about picking up the phone. There was a period, say, from 2009 to 2012 where receiving an actual phone call would paralyze me. (I mean, who calls anymore???) As it turns out, today, I do. I try to talk on the phone with friends and family as much as possible to catch up. It saves time, helps me feel connected to a real person — and, you know, the risk for text neck and lifelong spine issues.
Not a bad deal, right?
Categories
Exercise Safely in the Summer Scorch
It’s gorgeous outside. The summer sun is high in the sky and you’re motivated as ever to do a nice, long run outdoors.
But hold up! Before you catapult your fine, fit self into a sunny, sweaty workout there are things you must know and heed. Although studies show that people who exercise outdoors are happier and exercise longer than those who work out indoors, there can be some issues. Take it from me….I know from experience. I’ve been caught a mile from home, crawling toward my house, face purple, mouth pasty, light headed and nauseous, begging for someone to pick me up and give me a ride home. Has this ever happened to you? Let me help you keep from making your workout do more harm than good.
As if a sunburn isn’t bad enough, here is what can happen to you if you work out in the hot, summer sun without taking care. Each preceding condition, can dreadfully cause the next. They start mild then can quickly get worse.
PHASE 1:
Dehydration…Occurs when you lose more fluid than you take in.
Signs: thirst, dry skin, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, rapid heart beat
PHASE 2:
Heat Cramps…Tightening of your muscles resulting from electrolyte imbalance from loss of fluids.
Signs: muscular pain and cramping, hot sweaty skin, exhaustion, vomiting, fainting
PHASE 3:
Heat Exhaustion…Result of your body overheating from high temps usually combined w high humidity.
Signs: fever as high as 104, nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, headache, muscle cramps, cold clammy skin
PHASE 4:
Heat Stroke…Super serious condition caused by failure of your body’s temperature regulating mechanism when exposed to excessively high heat.
Signs: fever of over 104, confusion, slurred speech, hot and dry skin, vomiting, delirium, rapid breathing, racing heartrate
Basically this is what happens. Exercise and the outside temp increase your core body temperature. To cool itself, your body sends more blood to circulate through your skin and increases sweat production. The increased blood to the skin leaves less blood for your muscles which increases your heart rate. If there isn’t enough water in your body to produce sweat, your internal core temperature starts to rise and your heart rate increases further. Additionally, typically sweat is evaporated of the skin which serves to cool you off further. However, if outside humidity is high then moisture doesn’t readily evaporate off of your skin causing your body temp to get even higher.
How do you avoid overheating and feeling sick?
-Avoid exercising from 10am-3pm during the heat of the day. Early morning is best.
-Wear loose, light colored clothing to reflect heat and cotton to wick moisture away
-Wear sunscreen of minimum 45 spf, even on cloudy days
-Before you go out drink a glass or two of water. Carry water with you and drink 4-8 ounces of water every 15 minutes. When you’re done have more water.
-Get acclimated by running shorter distances the first couple of days of heat, then increasing slowly
-Take a cold shower before your workout or squeeze water on the top of your head while you exercise
-Exercise in cooler places
-Split up your workout by working out for a shorter time earlier in the morning, then again in the evening when it’s cooler
-Go slower
-Run through the sprinklers during your run!! (ok this is for fun too)
If you experience any type of heat illness do the following:
-Lie down in a cool, shady spot
-Remove extra clothing, fan your body or wet it down with cool water
-Place wet towels or ice packs around your neck
-Drink water or a sports drink immediately
Heat illness is quite serious and can be potentially life threatening. If your symptoms don’t get better after 20 minutes of treatment quickly get to the doctor or call 911.
If you are a runner, I’d bet without a doubt that at some point in your life you’ve heard one or both of the following statements:
1) “Run, Forest! Run!”
This was most likely yelled out of the car of a passerby who undoubtedly thought their commentary was hilarious, but fails to realize that everyone else also thinks this popular movie reference is hilarious. You’ve heard it before.
2) “Running is bad for your knees”.
If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a million times. Running is supposedly bad for our knees. The warning comes from loved ones, concerned for our well being. It comes from people with bad knees who are looking for a place to lay the blame. And it comes from the mouths of people who might not really have any idea what they are talking about, but they have also heard the “running is bad for your knees” rumor so often that they believe it must be true.
(Also, they probably can’t understand why you’d consider running 25 to 100 miles a week fun, so they’ve got to find a way to point out that your actions are crazy.)
But is it true? No, not the part about runners being slightly crazy, the part about your knees.
Brace yourselves (or brace your knees) but the answer may surprise you:
No. Running itself is NOT bad for your knees…for most people.
The act of constantly pounding your joints on the pavement does inherently seem harsh, so it would only make sense that it is bad for your body. However, it is important to remember that the parts that make up our body (bones, muscles, joints, etc.) are not like the parts that make up a car or a machine. Machine parts wear down over time with use. Our “parts”, however, are living things. Because cartilage, or soft connective tissue that surrounds the bones in our knees, does not have arteries that deliver blood, it relies on the pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. Because of this, numerous studies have shown that runners actually have thicker and healthier knee cartilage than those who are sedentary.
Take that naysayers.
But, as with anything, there are always exceptions. Those with family history of arthritis, osteoarthritis (the breakdown of cartilage), or degenerative joint issues may be at a higher risk of developing these potential issues. In fact, experts seem to agree that genetics are the true determining factor of possible arthritis, and running will neither exacerbate nor prohibit the outcome.
In other words, you can blame mom and dad if you develop osteoarthritis, but you can’t blame the running.
Further, those with prior traumatic knee injuries might be at risk for continuing damage due to the act of running. According to Runner’s World Sports Dr. Bill Roberts, people who have suffered ACL tears, regardless of repair status, are getting knees replaced 15-20 years earlier than their non-injured peers.
Lastly, obesity may play a role in knee pain. For every pound of weight a person carries, they have four pounds on the knee when running. In other words, if you weigh 100 pounds, there are 400 pounds of force on the knee with each foot strike. While we’ve established that the pounding force of running on the joints is beneficial, too much force will cause pressure on the cartilage will break it down over time, possibly resulting in osteoarthritis.
All of that said, even if you aren’t genetically at risk for joint issues, have experienced zero knee injuries in the past, and do not have an excessive amount of weight bearing down on your knees, there are still a few things you can do to keep your knees happy.
Train smart: increase your mileage gradually, as to not put too much stress on your body at one time.
Strength train: Overall strength ensures proper biomechanics and helps prevent any imbalances or weaknesses that may lead to possible injury.
Don’t over do it: even too much of a good thing can be bad, and running is no exception.
So, lace up your sneakers and hit the road…your knees will thank you.
Self-motivation is one of the keys to successful weight loss. But how do you keep yourself motivated when faced with food temptations or a lack of desire to eat right and exercise?
Develop a personal weight loss mantra.
I have always been interested in marketing and advertising slogans that large corporate brands use–like Nike’s “Just Do It” or Burger King’s “Have It Your Way.”
When you hear those slogans you instantly know what those brands stand for and what message they are trying to convey. A personal weight loss mantra can do the same for you.
A mantra is a phrase that is repeated to give you focus. A weight loss mantra motivates you to keep working on your weight loss effort no matter how hard it seems. I developed my weight loss mantra during my final weight loss. After mulling over different ideas, I came up with a simple three-word phrase.
Never go back.
Even after I completed my weight loss, my mantra is still present with me. Choices I make each day are filtered through it. It motivated me then to move forward losing weight, and it motivates me now to maintain a healthy weight.
Developing and using a weight loss mantra has several benefits.
1) It’s Personal
Having your own mantra is a personal motivator. Whether you borrow mine or develop your own, it becomes a phrase you can repeat to yourself when you are feeling unmotivated or tempted.
2) It’s Positive
Most people I talk to do not find losing weight to be a positive experience. A mantra is positive reinforcement because it moves you in the right direction and takes your mind off the difficulty of making the right food choices or exercising when you don’t want to.
3) It’s Persuasive
A mantra should be persuasive. My mantra reminded me of where I had come from and persuaded me to continue reaching forward.
Use your mantra when faced with challenges. For example, if you find yourself lying in bed debating whether to get up and exercise, repeat your mantra to yourself. Then get out of bed.
When you see a sweets table at a meeting or wedding, say your mantra in your head. Then walk away from the table, confident that good choices now will pay off later.
Here are some tips for developing your own mantra:
· Keep it short.
· Make it simple.
· Use a phrase that works for weight loss and maintenance.
· Write it down.
· Try it out for a day or two.
· Change it if you decide you don’t like it.
I’ve put together 20 sample mantras. Take one as your own, tweak it to suit your needs, or use one as a springboard for a completely different mantra.
1. Always make the effort.
2. Don’t give up on yourself.
3. Always finish what you start.
4. Make your dreams a reality.
5. Make my children and my spouse proud.
6. Be brave. Take risks.
7. Don’t give up at the end, go harder.
8. Don’t EVER give up.
9. Strength, Focus, Discipline.
10. I am going after what I want.
11. I am important.
12. Excellence in all things.
13. I love myself enough to stay strong.
14. Tomorrow is too late.
15. Take action today.
16. Creating a new me one day at a time.
17. Keep on fighting.
18. Can’t is not in my vocabulary.
19. I’m doing this for me.
20. I can do more than I think I can.
My mantra, “Never go back,” motivates me to stay at a healthy weight, gives me the boost I need to get off the couch and exercise, and reminds me of where I came from.
Find your personal weight loss mantra, and use it as a daily inspiration. Write it down, embrace its meaning, and stay motivated to lose weight and keep it off.
Categories
10 Reasons to Run With the Pack
Running is inherently an individual sport.
OK, sure, if you are on a high school or college cross country or track and field team, I suppose you can consider running a “team” sport. But for the rest of us non student, recreational runners, it’s just us, our sneakers, and the pavement. (Or the trail, or the treadmill…but you get the idea.)
There’s no denying that one of the great things about running is the fact that you don’t need anyone else to participate in the sport. In fact, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that one of the huge appeals to me as a runner is the opportunity running gives me to have alone, quiet, “me” time.
Time to reflect on my day, brainstorm posts like this very one you are reading, and solve the
problems of the world…or at least the ones in my own little world.
But one of the other really great things about running is the community. Runners are some of the most amazing, caring, encouraging people on this planet. And while there is nothing wrong with solo running, I’m going to boldly say that if you haven’t joined in on a group run, you are missing out. Here are ten reasons why:
10) Accountability. It’s hard to hit that snooze button when you know someone is waiting for you. It’s so much harder to sleep in when you know an entire group is waiting for you, and will likely give you a hard time the next time they see you if you skip this run.
9) Learning about the latest running gear/nutrition/races on the market. Let’s face it, this type of stuff doesn’t typically make the front page of the news, so it’s great to have some insider sources.
8) Having someone by your side to distract you from the endless, boring, long run miles. But even better…having someone by your side to share the amazing “it feels like we’re flying” miles.
7) Learning tips and tools of the trade from experienced runners, like how to properly perform a “Farmer’s Blow”.
6) Being entertained by the “old timers” who always have outrageous tales to tell, like the one time a local runner ran a whole mile off course, got chased by a raccoon, drank half a beer, and still ended up winning the race (this may or may not be a true story).
5) Broaden your friendship horizons. I’ve been on group runs with people from completely opposite backgrounds who voraciously debated opposing sides of hot topics, typically political or religious issues, as the miles ticked by. Chances are these people wouldn’t have normally given each other the time of day, yet through running, they have become close friends.
4) Become a faster runner. Hanging onto a pack of runners who are slightly stronger and faster than you can force you to step out of your comfort zone, push that lactic threshold, and train harder. But on the other hand…
3) Other runners can keep you in check. Does your workout call for a long, SLOW run at a specific distance? Staying back with a slower group will prevent you from pushing the pace. Be sure to tell the most sensible one in the group what your prescribed workout is, and they’ll remind you not to try and be a hero and run further than you should.
2) Free “life” advice. On group runs I have heard everything from how to deal with a teething infant, to suggestions on the best Chinese food take out restaurant in town, and absolutely everything in between.
But the number one, hands down, reason for joining a running group?
1) Finding other people who understand your type of “crazy”, like going to bed early on a Friday night just to wake up at 5:00 am and run 20 miles through a snowstorm the next Saturday morning. For fun.
So if you haven’t given your local group run a try, go. Join them. You don’t have to give up the solo life of a runner just yet, but the camaraderie, laughter, and valuable training (and life) tips you will take away from a group run will only enhance your running experience.
Let’s face it. Getting in shape usually requires plenty of hard work, dedication, and a considerable amount of time in the gym. But sometimes it’s good to shake up the routine a bit to help keep things fresh and new. Mixing in some other activities, especially ones that help get you outside, can provide a nice change of pace without compromising your workout schedule in any way. In fact, there are a number of great outdoor sports that will not only compliment your existing workout but possibly enhance it as well.
If you’re looking to move at least part of your exercise routine to the outdoors, here are the very best activities that can help you achieve your fitness goals while providing a healthy dose of fresh air and sunshine too.
Hiking
While hiking may seem like a simple walk in the woods, it can actually lead to a fairly intense workout if you want it to be. Hiking trails can range from completely flat, to incredibly steep and hilly, with the terrain obviously having a direct impact on the intensity level of the trek. Steep hills, both up and down, will work the leg muscles as well as the cardiovascular system. Flat trails won’t offer the same level of difficulty of course, but if done at a faster pace, they can still provide a good workout.
Want to add an extra challenge to your hike? Try wearing a full backpack while walking the trail.
Mountain Biking
There are few outdoor sports that provide more heart-pounding action than mountain biking. Not only will riding a trail test your legs and lungs, but the fast-paced action will induce more than a few adrenaline rushes too. That makes for a great cardio workout of course, but mountain biking can also be of tremendous benefit to both the lower and upper body as well.
Riding up and down hills is the best way to improve fitness, of course, but rolling along on a flat trail at a high rate of speed will still provide a solid workout too. It is all about keeping your cadence up, which can lead to burning calories at a surprisingly high rate.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding
In order to stay on your feet, SUP requires participants to maintain their balance at all times. This not only provides a good workout for the leg muscles but the core (chest and abs) as well. Additionally, since the sport involves paddling across flat water or down a river, the arms and shoulders get plenty of attention too.
Trail Running
Nothing changes up a stale running routine quite like moving off the treadmill and onto a trail. Trail running requires strength, agility, and balance, as the uneven terrain is much more difficult to run on than anything you’ll find in the gym, or even out on the road.
Regular trail runs can result in stronger legs and joints, not to mention improved cardio efficiency. And since you’ll be working harder on a trail run, you’ll burn far more calories too.
Rock Climbing
For one of the best all-body workouts available, give rock climbing a try. Most non-climbers are under the false impression that rock climbing is all about upper-body strength, but honestly, the legs and core are just as important to achieving success.
Rock climbing can help promote lean muscle mass, while also toning the arms, chest, shoulders, legs, and back. It also happens to be a great way to burn calories and work the cardiovascular system as well.
While obviously not for everyone, and not an activity you should do solo, rock climbing really is one of the best all-around workouts to add to your fitness routine.
It can’t be stressed enough just how important it is to change up your exercise routine from time to time. These outdoor activities will not only help you do that but also add in a healthy dose of fun in the process. By just moving your workout from inside the stuffy gym to the fresh air of the outdoors you are bound to see positive benefits as well. Consider that the next time you are having a hard time getting motivated. Then give yourself a free pass to go hit your favorite local trail instead.
Close your eyes for a second and imagine someone with an eating disorder.
If the person you envisioned was female, you’re not alone. In fact, most of us believe that women and girls are the only ones affected by eating disorders. But the facts tell a very different story. In the U.S., at least a third of the 30 million people suffering from eating disorders are boys or men, according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). That’s 10 million people, most of whom won’t ever get the help they desperately need because they have a Y chromosome. And that, my friends, is a real—and sometimes quite deadly—tragedy.
So why do we ignore men and boys with eating disorders? I’ve come up with at least three reasons:
- Even though a lot of those 10 million boys and young men know they’ve got a problem, they refuse to ask for help because they’re afraid that people will make fun of them. After all, real men don’t have eating problems right? Guys who do acknowledge that they have a problem and ask for help often find that eating disorder treatment programs accept only females.
- It never occurs to most medical professionals that boys could actually have an eating disorder. So even when the symptoms are staring them in the face, pediatricians and primary care docs too often don’t see them. Mental health professionals_people who really ought to know better—also turn a blind eye to boys. One of the big industry groups, the American Psychiatric Association, has a very informative section on its website devoted to eating disorders. But the first symptom on the list is “menstrual periods cease.” That pretty well eliminates the boys.
- Since so few professionals seriously consider the possibility that eating disorders might not be purely a female issue, they routinely exclude boys and young men from relevant research. And if they’re left out of research, they’re also left out of clinical trials for drugs and other potential therapies.
How the Media Feeds Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are typically related to body image. People suffering from anorexia, for example, look in the mirror and, no matter how skinny they are, they see an obese person. Generally speaking, girls and women worry more than boys and men do about being overweight, and some of those worries are driven by the media. Many critics put the blame on the undeniable gender-based double standard: dad-bod, for example—a nice way of saying “soft and pudgy”—is perfectly fine for men, but mom-bod includes a tight butt and a six pack. Others point to men’s magazines, movies, and TV, and the idealized images that girls and women feel they have to emulate to be considered attractive.
There’s a lot of truth there. But next time you’re at the grocery store, spend a few minutes flipping through Cosmo, Shape, and other women’s magazines. You’ll find that the images of women are nearly identical: alluring, idealized, and sexy. The enormous pressure girls feel from all sides to look like those perfectly airbrushed actresses and models can make them feel terrible about their own body and sometimes leads to eating disorders.
That’s the bad news.
The worse news is that the media does something equally damaging to boys. Men’s magazines, movies, and TV shows feature guys with impossibly large biceps, too many abs to count, and the kind of physique most of us could never achieve. Those same idealized (and objectifying) images also show up in girls’ and women’s magazines, where they influence the expectations their readers have for men and boys.
As a result, males who are overweight may feel even more pressure to lose weight—which could contribute to eating disorders. And those whose weight is perfectly fine may develop another type of disorder: “muscle dysmorphia,” also known as “bigorexia.” Bigorexics (who are almost always male) look in the mirror and, no matter how ripped they are, see a 96-pound wimp.
While bigorexia isn’t as deadly as anorexia and other “traditional” eating disorders, it can still lead to a number of very serious problems.
Boys and men who feel pressured to have the perfect body often become anxious and depressed (which can lead to suicide). They diet and work out obsessively and can do permanent joint and muscle damage. Those obsessions can become so consuming that homework, school attendance, and career may suffer, and they may stop spending time with friends and family because they don’t want to interrupt their workout schedule or they feel embarrassed about how skinny they are.
Bigorexics may drain their bank accounts to pay for personal trainers and surgery (if exercise doesn’t produce the desired effects, it’s always possible to get that Mr. Olympia look with pec, bicep, calf, ab, and other implants). And they may load up on “supplements,” including testosterone and steroids, which have been linked to increased blood pressure and heart attack risk, reduced liver and bowel function, dementia, and sudden flashes of anger sometimes called “roid” (as in steroid) rage.
If you suspect that you or someone you know has an eating disorder, including bigorexia, it’s important to find help. Now. If the person is under 18, start with his pediatrician. If he or she laughs it off or refuses to consider an eating disorder, find another doctor. If he’s over 18, set up a visit with the primary care doc or a mental health professional who has experience treating people with eating disorders. You’ll also find a ton of great resources, information, guidance, and support at the NEDA website, http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/