Walking Slow Is Good Too

Researchers have found out that walking slow can actually burn slightly more calories than mid-speed walking. Evidently when they looked at the motion of your body they found that you are basically stopping and starting with each step and momentum isn’t helping you along. At the other end of the spectrum, at very high walking speeds you use more muscle groups with arm motion and with a long stride. That burns extra calories. Running has lots of up and down motion that may burn more calories lifting your weight up off the ground and moving forward. Of course the aerobic exercise of a quicker pace has many benefits as well.

The big thing is that all walking will benefit your diet. Just do it! (Hey that’s catchy.)

TODAY: TAKE A WALK

Yellow Means Caution

Okay, here’s a question you probably haven’t been asked lately. What color is your pee? The reason I ask is that it’s the best indicator of how much water you need to drink. If you have light yellow pee you are drinking enough water. The darker the color of yellow, the more water you need. That’s a caution indicator as well.

So why is it yellow? Your kidneys do a couple of things that show up in your pee. They keep the salt content of the blood constant, and they filter waste out of your blood. So pee is water, salt, ammonia cell waste converted by the liver to urea and pigments from bilirubin, the waste from blood, is degraded to urobilins. Salt, water, and urea are all colorless, but urobilins are yellow. If you get dehydrated, your urine will contain less water and be darker yellow.

Now you know why I nag about drinking your water. If the stuff is concentrated it’s hard on your kidneys and bad for you.

TODAY: SEE HOW LIGHT YELLOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR PEE.

Dad Would Think We’re Crazy

In the United States, clean water is readily available yet people insist on carrying bottles with them everywhere. The trend to drinking bottled water is just a few years old. I remember when I first heard of Perrier. Then I tasted it and wondered what all the fuss was about. Others decided that they didn’t need fizzy bad tasting water in a bottle, but maybe nice clean spring water would be good. And so it came to be. We started paying the same for plain water as we used to pay for a soda, or even a beer! It’s nuts. It also contributes to massive ecological damage in the form of tons of waste.

When I was a kid I remember getting thirsty when out and about with friends, (Yes actually outside playing, talking directly to them without text messages or online chat.) we’d head to a hose on the side of the house and get a cold swig (when was the last time you heard that word) of water. Amazingly, we actually thrived on it.

Dad always kept a water bottle in the refrigerator. Mom always told him to pour it in a glass before drinking. It never happened.

So in our quest for eight glasses a day, there is no need to spend big bucks on bottles. Just turn on a tap. If you want to use a filtered container that’s great too. Of course they’re too hard to drink out of, so you’ll have to use a glass.

TODAY: DRINK TAP WATER.

80 – 20 Rule

I’ll start the week with a short bit of advice. If you watch what you eat 80% of the time the other 20% is not  problem.

TODAY: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU EAT!

So What’s Anaerobic Exercise?

I told you about aerobic exercise the other day. You also hear about anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise might actually be a goal for your health if you are so inclined or physically fit.

Anaerobic exercise is exercise at a more difficult pace. You’re going all-out. Races are a good example, but it can also include weight lifting, jumping rope, and sports. All the things that would leave you really winded when you finish. If you get really fit it can be a real reward. You get that “runners high”. But if you’re not fit you get aches, pains and maybe worse. Don’t do it without a doctor saying you can. I’m just nagging you to exercise for general health and fitness and to burn calories to reach your goal, not to go for the gold.

Here’s a quick way to tell if you’re doing too much, too fast. You should be able to talk when you’re exercising. Just don’t talk about eating.

TODAY: TAKE A GOOD LONG AEROBIC WALK.

Can You Afford to Diet?

A calorie reduction diet doesn’t involve buying anything special. Replace those bags of snacks with more fruits and vegetables and you have spent the same amount for better nutrition.

Then invest. Invest time for your walking exercise. Just a half hour a day is all it takes.

The big return will be a smaller you and significant savings in medical bills.

Can you afford to diet? Can you afford not to?

TODAY: BANK ON BETTER HEALTH.