Beginner's Fitness Programs

Archive for October, 2011

Although we sort of knew it, it is now official. According to a Duke University study, an aerobic workout beats weight-training when it comes to losing belly fat. Of course, this means not only the fat just under the skin, but also the fat located deep in the abdominal cavity and covering internal organs. This fat is known to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Sure, we would all love to have six-pack abs, but we also want to live healthier. This is good news.

Of course, resistance-training is not obsolete for improving health. Combinations of aerobic workouts with weight-training are known to improve glycemic and blood-sugar levels, and are especially helpful for people who already are diabetic.

So how long do we need to do aerobic workouts to lose belly fat? According to a University of Alabama study, you may need 80 minutes a week. It may sound a like a lot but a 30-minute workout three time a week is not that bad. Further, if you do intensive interval-training (see article about intensive cardio workout), you can cut this to 20 minutes 3 times a week.

You may have time to go to the gym only three times a week, and each time you can spend less than an hour since you go during your lunch break. If you spend 30 minutes on a cardio workout, you won’t have much time left for weight-training. What can you do? If you replace interval- training for cardio and then add weight-training, you can fit everything (including locker-room time) in less than an hour. But there is another way.

This is called phase-training. One week, you do only aerobic workouts, say 3 times a week for 40 minutes. Then the following week, you do the aerobic workouts for 40 minutes twice a week, and do weight-training once. During the third week, you do one 40-minute cardio workout, then two weight-training sessions. The fourth week, you do all weight-training. Then reverse the course. Some people do this differently: one week only cardio and the next weight-training only.

So what is the advantage of this phase-training? The human body is very efficient in adapting to physical tasks given. If you run all the time, your body gets used to the motion and energy efficiency goes up, which means that you won’t use as much energy as you did when you first began running. Consequently, you won’t lose as much weight as you did in the beginning. By skipping a certain workout here and there and replacing it with another, you are keeping your body always on high alert and from getting used to the same workout. That is why it is always recommended to use different cardio machines at a gym so that your body won’t get used to one particular motion.

You can, of course, phase interval-training, aerobic workouts, and resistance-training. If you combine them with a healthy diet, you can lose unwanted belly fat.

Sources:
The Effects of Aerobic versus Resistance Training on Visceral and Liver Fat Stores, Liver Enzymes and HOMA from STRRIDE AT/RT: A Randomized Trial. AJP: Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2011
Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Training on Hemoglobin A1c Levels in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA, 2010;304
Exercise Keeps Dangerous Visceral Fat Away A Year After Weight Loss, Study Finds. University of Alabama at Birmingham 2009, October

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In our daily lives, we need to make so many decisions, it is impossible to make every decision consciously. For example, do you make a conscious effort when you walk? I don’t think “I need to pick up my left foot while I need to maintain balance on my right.” Yes, many things are done unconsciously. Most unconscious efforts were, however, initially done consciously.

When you text a friend on your phone, do you look at each key and think about which letter to tap? Probably not – you just text. This was not so, however, the first time you used your phone for texting. You really needed to pay close attention to the keys and think about the spelling of the word, but you gradually got used to texting, and now you don’t need to think about it. In fact, your texting may be faster than you can actually think consciously!

Many human behaviors evolve similarly, and we can use this knowledge to develop certain personal behaviors to achieve fitness goals. Let’s take dieting as an example, since many people have tried and failed. One reason people fail is that they try to force themselves to diet. If it is a conscious effort all the time, it won’t last. Only when it becomes automatic will you develop habits and achieve lasting results. Sure, you need to pay attention to what you are doing in the beginning, but the sooner the effort becomes unconscious, the longer it will last.

In fact, according to a University of Alberta study, the unconscious mind is far more important for achieving a goal than previously thought. When people start achieving small successes toward a long-term goal, the unconscious mind feels “rewarded” by those achievements, and creates a positive cycle in which we continuously feel good about the long term goal. Amazingly, even if people fail to achieve stepping-stone successes mid-way to the final goal, if the unconscious mind is already set in the positive cycle, people don’t feel any negative effect. They may alter the course a bit, but will keep moving toward the goal.

One way to accelerate the unconscious process is to adapt your environment to suit your goal. According to one study presented by the American Psychological Association this summer, most people cannot correctly judge the amount of food they eat. If the food is served on a larger plate or cup, people eat far more than if it is served on a smaller plate or cup. Another study done at Clemson University showed that people eat far more when they are watching TV. Yes, this eating is unconscious and automatic. These are “environmental” factors you can easily change consciously.

There are two more conscious efforts you may want to begin. First, think about your health as often as you can. According to a study done at the California Institute of Technology, when you think about living a healthy life, even it is not related to food, healthier food appears more attractive when you choose a meal. Although thinking about your health is a conscious effort at the beginning, the attractiveness of healthy food is natural brain chemical (unconscious) reaction.
The other is planning your diet – the simpler the better. Many people think that if a meal plan is flexible, they can adhere to it better, but it is not necessarily true. If flexibility makes things too complicated and you need to make a conscious effort to keep following the plan, it won’t last. Therefore, a simpler plan is better. For example, if a meal is delivered daily or weekly, you don’t need to think about calories and nutritional values, and it is much easier to follow.

Here are several suggestions you may want to take when following a healthy diet.

• When you eat, take smaller bites, chew more, and pay attention to the taste of the food.
• Don’t watch TV or do other tasks while eating.
• Use smaller plates when preparing meals. When eating out, ask for an extra (smaller plate), move a portion of your order to that plate, and eat that meal. (Most restaurant portions are adequate for 2-3 meals!)
• Use a skinny tall glass instead of a short fat glass to serve juice.
• Hide or throw away all high-calorie foods and keep only healthy food at home. In restaurants, ask the server not to add any high-calorie side dishes to your plate.
• Think about your health.
• Make your diet plan simple.

Depending on the person, it may take between a week and a month before these efforts become part of the unconscious realm, but once there, you can enjoy the ride of your unconscious mind and achieve your goal of being healthier.

Sources:
Affect in the aftermath: How goal pursuit influences implicit evaluations. Cognition & Emotion, 2011; 25 (3): 453
Mindful eating: Researchers are making every bite count Clemson University 2011, August.
Focusing Attention on the Health Aspects of Foods Changes Value Signals in vmPFC and Improves Dietary Choice. Journal of Neuroscience, 2011; 31
Mindless eating: Losing weight without thinking, American Psychological Association 2011, August
When weight management lasts: Lower perceived rule complexity increases adherence. Appetite, 2009

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