Cheap Liposuction
Nancy Bennett, MS, RD, CDEMany people react to the thought of exercise much like Dracula reacts to the cross: they curl away as if it is some form of torture. I look at exercise as "cheap liposuction."
I see it exercise cheap liposuction because walking briskly for thirty minutes sucks the fat right out storage and sends it to the muscles where it is burned. Did I mention the fact exercise is free?
The fact is there are only two fates for the fat in your fare: first, it is stored in your fat cells and second, your muscles burn it. I walk because I want to burn the fat I ate last weekend, or the fat I ate while on vacation, or the fat I ate… never mind, you get the point.
I have to look at walking as cheap liposuction because, nine times out of ten, I don’t feel like walking, nor do I feel I have the time to walk.
Who has the time? When I arrive home from work at the end of the day my mind feels like it has been whirled in a blender at Jamba Juice. I’m tired and the only thing I want to do is park myself on my husband’s barcolounger. There, perched amid his kingdom of remote controls trying to figure out which one does which, I think about taking a walk. Did I mention Dracula’s reaction to the sight of a cross?
After a few fast food commercials and a bogus weight loss testimonial, I remember Saturday night’s tortilla chips. I am now wearing that chip fat. My jeans told me so when I tried to squeeze into them, and they quickly became a tourniquet. Those jeans were just a bit snug when I bought them and now, judging by the bluish tinge to my legs, they clearly occlude blood to my lower legs.
Though this experience with the jeans has probably never happened to a nice person such as you, it’s happened to yours truly and the humiliation of it all is enough to rocket my rear end off that barcolounger. I just keep on saying to myself "Think Cheap Liposuction" as I put on my walking shoes and hit the trail.
Want to siphon off some of that fat you’re wearing? SIMPLY MOVE! Start moving and don’t stop for thirty minutes. Any kind of moving will do: walk, bike, jog, row, swim, or dance. It doesn’t matter how you move, as long as you move for thirty minutes.
How can you tell if you are moving at the right pace? There are two methods for figuring this out.
The first is “the talk” method. You go out and walk briskly enough so that you begin to feel warm and feel the need to take deeper breaths, yet you can still talk to someone. Not with monosyllabic sentences either. If someone asks you if you like ice cream and all you can choke out is “yeah”, you are exercising too hard and need to slow down.
On the other hand, if you can respond with "Yes. My very favorite is chocolate chip, not just any kind of chocolate chip; it has to be Baskin Robbins, and not the store bought Dryers stuff… It has to be the kind they scoop right out of the tub, at the ice cream place… And not just any ice cream place either..." you are probably going to slowly. Pick up your pace a bit. If you can respond with "Yes and my very favorite is chocolate chip", you are going at the right speed.
The second method is monitoring your heart rate by taking your pulse and bringing it up to your "Target Heart Rate" zone.
Take your pulse at your wrist or jugular and count for six seconds; then add a zero to that number. For example, if it is twelve every six seconds, then your pulse is one hundred and twenty beats per minute. Use the following formula to determine your target heart rate:
TARGET HEART RATE = (220 – your age) times .6 to .8 For example, if you were a fifty-year-old, your target heart rate would be:
(220 - 50) x .6 = 106
To
(220 – 50) x .8 = 136
If you take your pulse, and it is between ten to thirteen beats per six seconds, you are within the target heart rate range. If it is higher than thirteen beats every six seconds, you are walking too fast. At this pace, your muscles are burning carbohydrates instead of fats and the muscles will break down (not to mention the fact you feel exhausted, out of breath and miserable).
Slow down and take your time. You will enjoy yourself more and burn greater amounts of fat. THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT OF EXERCISE: BUILDING UP YOUR MUSCLE MASS AND TEACHING THEM TO BURN MORE FAT! THIS IS THE ART OF CHEAP LIPOSUCTION!
An Enlightening Choice starts with the thought. The next time you come home from work and your brain feels like it has been whirled through blenders at Jamba Juice, think about walking as cheap liposuction. It just may make the difference between wearing your weekend groceries and burning you weekend groceries. The choice is up to you.
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