Womens' Weight Studies

I just got my American Council on Exercise magazine and saw a new study on middle aged women and weight control.

The journal of the American Medical Association found that middle aged women require an hour of daily moderate-intensity exercise to maintain their weight. That doesn't include cleaning house and such, they state that means activities like walking, swimming and yoga.

They go on to say that is over what is recommended for health benefits. They are focusing on weight control for middle aged women. Younger women were not included in the studies.

They also say that's not possible for many women so a combination of exercise and eating fewer calories may be more doable.

That makes sense to me. I gained a bit of weight after my spinal surgery. I use to exercise far more than an hour a day. I tried to do just the 30 minutes once I was able to and I kept gaining weight. I love to eat!  I had to cut way back on my intake to get a hold of things.

The good news is that you can split that time up if you want to be able to eat the same amount of food you did when you were younger.

As we age we lose muscle mass so gaining weight comes with that. Making adjustments is important if you want to maintain a healthy weight.

I wanted to pass that on to you. Exercise is so important. Got to keep your body moving!

Feel free to leave questions and comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn    www.getrealfit.org

Youtube Workout

Are you getting in shape for summer? So am I!

I'm just starting my do over conditioning since my spinal surgery 9 months ago (due to a sport injury).I've been maintaining my strength most of my life. A do over is much tougher than maintaining.

I'm using "Punch and Firm" this week because it builds muscle in your lower body which increases your metabolism due to the size of the muscles in the lower body.

The punches keep you in the fat burning state too! I love this workout...I'm doing the low impact version. Can't jump like I use to.

Join me! You can get "Punch and Firm" on my website   www.getrealfit.org

Feel free to leave questions and comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn  www.getrealfit.org

Swimming Good Or Bad?

Swimming is a controversial aerobic activity. Some say it's not good for weight loss.

My new podcast covers the ins and outs of swimming. Give it a listen.

Learning as much as you can about exercise is smart!

You never know what life is going to throw your way. I thought I'd be jumping to the ceiling my whole life and then BANG I had to have spinal surgery. I'm glad I was able to draw on my knowledge to find other ways I can exercise that interest me.

Here's the link to my podcast or you can always click on the icon on the upper right side of the page to hear my podcasts. Great information awaits you!

http://lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/

Feel free to leave questions and comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn    www.getrealfit.org

Make Friends With Food

Making friends with food may sound like a bad idea. You may think that you have too much friendship going on with food. But if you stop and think about it overeating is not a good relationship. You're using food not really enjoying food when you over eat.

Food has been my comfort for most of my life. I struggled with an eating disorder for 17 years. I finally realized that food was not being my friend, it was stopping me from living life.

That didn't stop me from loving food. With a lot of help I learned how to have a good relationship with food. I learned to really experience and enjoy my 6 small meals a day. They taste soooo good to me.

I learned to make my meals special and not to take them for granted. Even taking "human" relationships for granted can cause problems.

Stuffing my face was not making me happy. It made me avoid things that were eating at me. Running to food was making me run away from life.

Life can be wonderful and it can be overwhelming and it can be down right scary at times but over eating only adds to those tough times. It doesn't make them go away. Now instead of one problem you have two problems when you go to food for comfort.

Think about that. Talking to your doctor or a councilor instead of over eating is a better plan.

Food for thought...

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!


Your fitness expert

Lynn     www.getrealfit.org

Is A "6 Pack" A Good Thing?

Having a strong core body is important. The push for a 6 pack is controversial.

I had spine surgery 9 months ago. I went in in peak conditioning and left totally de-conditioned!

I've been working with a great physical therapist and an amazing massage therapist. Both have given me lectures about getting a 6 pack.

I never had a 6 pack just a very strong core body. They said that's what I should shoot for again but not a 6 pack.

They explained that over developing the upper abs can cause back problems, breathing problems and restricts the area your internal organs need.

My massage therapist is from Iran. He's confused why Americans tend to want 6 pack abs. I had to laugh. Many of us do tend to think from the outside in. Let us look good outside and if the inside gets better BONUS.

I'm working hard on getting my strong core body back by working my back as much as my chest and abs. I did before but now I'm even more aware of how important that is. Muscle balance is crucial for a healthy spine.

Just wanted to pass that on. Most women struggle to get 6  packs anyway so I hope this makes you aware that you really are better off with a strong core and not the ripples.

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn     www.getrealfit.org

It's A Choice

Each day you have a choice. Are you going to make the most of your day?

Taking care of your health allows you to have more choices. If you're overweight, depressed and tired your choices are affected.

Some days it's tough. Some days laying in bed and eating as much chocolate as you can afford seems like the best choice. Generally that's not a good choice. There are days when staying in bed, reading a good book and having some chocolate revives your energy.

It's all up to you. Some times that's a tough nut to swallow. It's easier to find something or someone to blame for your need to skip your exercise or to add an extra meal to your agenda.

Even if you've made bad choices for your health yesterday, today you can change that!

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn  www.getrealfit.org